British minister says peace in Ukraine is now 'closer than ever'
Photo: British Security Minister Dan Jarvis (flickr.com photos ukhomeoffice)
British Security Minister Dan Jarvis says that the war in Ukraine may be reaching a turning point. The summit in Alaska gave hope for a step toward real peace, according to his statement, quoted by The Telegraph.
According to him, peace between Ukraine and Russia became noticeably closer after the summit in Alaska and a series of talks in Washington, and the current stage can be considered the most promising since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In the minister’s opinion, the war has approached a “pivotal moment,” and the international meetings of recent days have opened a new window of opportunity for seeking compromise.
“The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer - ed.) chaired a meeting just the other day with 30 international leaders, the coalition of the willing, so it feels to me like we are closer to peace than we have been at any point in the conflict,” Jarvis said.
The main task ahead
He noted that the key task lies in moving from diplomatic signals to practical results.
“But we’ve got to drive that forward, we’ve got to get an agreement in place and we’ve got to put in place a long-term enduring peace settlement. That is obviously in the interests of Ukraine, of wider European security, but it’s in our own security interests as well,” he emphasized.
Jarvis added that London is ready to play an active role in future agreements.
“This feels to me like a pivotal moment. We are closer to peace than we have been at any point recently. And the UK Government, the Prime Minister’s been clear about this, will be wanting to play our full part in terms of securing that peace,” he summed up.
Next steps of the Coalition of the Willing
The Coalition of the Willing announced its intention to deploy support forces on the territory of Ukraine after the end of the war.
In the coming days, working group meetings will take place with representatives of the United States, where concrete mechanisms of security guarantees and scenarios for possible deployment of forces will be agreed.
The allies will also work on further steps to put pressure on the Kremlin, namely new sanction tools aimed at weakening the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Britain’s role in restoring security
London has expressed readiness to send its military units to strengthen the protection of Ukraine’s skies and seaports. British troops will not take part in combat directly on the front line.
Another area of cooperation between Kyiv and London concerns the restoration of democratic processes. The United Kingdom agreed to assist in holding the first election after the war. The electoral commissions of the two countries have already signed the relevant cooperation document.
