British PM Keir Starmer: Parliament to vote on troop deployment to Ukraine
Jan. 7 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday Parliament would be able to debate and vote on whether to deploy troops to Ukraine on a peacekeeping mission.
Speaking to members of Parliament, Starmer said any action involving British troops deploying to Ukraine would be “in accordance with our military plans” and require parliamentary approval.
On Tuesday, Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron signed a trilateral agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, opening the door for the two countries to deploy troops to Ukraine after it signs a peace agreement with Russia.
Starmer told members of Parliament that the leaders “made real progress on security guarantees, which are vital for securing a just and lasting peace.”
“We will set out the details in a statement at the earliest opportunity. I will keep the house updated as the situation develops, and were troops to be deployed under the declaration signed, I would put that matter to the house for a vote.”
His comments were in response to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who questioned why Starmer hadn’t made a full statement to the House of Commons on the issue, The Guardian reported. She said she welcomed the prime minister’s efforts on peace in Ukraine, but she found it “astonishing” that he wasn’t making a full statement to lawmakers.
“No prime minister, Labour or Conservative, has failed to make a statement to the house in person after committing to the deployment of British troops,” she said. “His comments about making a statement in due course, quite frankly, are not good enough.”
Starmer responded that he wasn’t required to make a statement to Parliament because the agreement he signed Tuesday fell under previously existing military plans.
He also declined to specify how many British troops would be deployed should a peace deal be reached, the BBC reported.