UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he was prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine if needed. The comments came hours before European leaders were to meet in Paris Monday to address Washington’s shock policy shift on the war.

The French presidency has warned that European countries should do more for their collective security, as talks between the United States and Russia loom.

With fears that Europe could be sidelined in negotiations to end the three-year war, Starmer said he was willing to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary”.

“Any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country,” Starmer wrote in the Daily Telegraph late Sunday.

Describing a “once-in-a-generation moment”, Starmer’s comments were the first time he has explicitly said he was considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine. He has previously said that Britain was willing to help play a part in any peace deal that is negotiated.