London, 3 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The United Kingdom has downplayed French proposals for a one-month truce in Ukraine as a minister warned a temporary pause in the fighting could give Russia time to regroup and attack again.

Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said various options were on the table but insisted no plan had been agreed after France’s President Emmanuel Macron said his country and Britain were backing the prospect of a limited ceasefire.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency summit of European leaders over the weekend as allies scramble to find a way forward following the Oval Office row between US President Donald Trump, his Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to broadcasters on Monday morning, Pollard distanced the government from claims that a Franco-British proposal for a one-month truce covering air, sea and attacks on critical infrastructure had been presented to the summit.

“No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like, and so I don’t recognize the precise part you mentioned there,” he told Times Radio.

But he appeared to signal that military deployments to Ukraine from European countries would be possible even without the US backstop sought by the prime minister and allies.

Asked whether troops could be sent to Kiev with or without an American guarantee, he said: “Military deployments are possible. But the point is, we want a durable and lasting peace.

“And this is where it’s really important to understand the distinction between a short pause, which might be able to be achieved, but that doesn’t sustain a durable peace, because there’s a genuine worry by President Zelensky and the Ukrainians that a short pause will simply allow the Russian forces to reconstitute, to rearm, to regroup and then to attack again.”

His message appeared at odds with that of Eleonore Caroit, a deputy in the French National Assembly for the Renaissance party and vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that plans for a ceasefire in Ukraine sent “a very strong message” and showed that “if we want, we can do something.”

“It’s not despair but seeing your strongest and longest ally, the US, have the attitude that they had a few days ago is of concern of course,” she said.

“And this shows that we’re capable of making proposals and that these proposals can lead somewhere.”

Key to the discussions, led by Britain and France, has been an insistence on the inclusion of an American backstop as part of any peacekeeping deal in order to deter future Russian aggression.

The United States has not yet committed to providing any such security guarantee, which the UK sees as essential to ensuring a “durable and lasting” ceasefire.

Pollard insisted that Washington “remains our closest security ally” and that Britain trusts intelligence sent to America will not reach the Kremlin.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey is expected to visit the US later this week to move discussions forward, with military delegates and other officials also due to fly over to the country.

Photo: EPA