US President Donald Trump Tuesday said there will be no US troops deployed in Ukraine as part of any potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. “You have my assurance, and I’m president,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News, hours after his meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. Trump said European allies wre willing to put boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a security guarantee and the US is willing to help them with things but there will be no boots on the ground. “There’ll be some kind of security,” Trump said, though emphasizing that it “can’t be Nato”.
What are Ukraine security guarantees?
After Monday’s meeting, President Trump said Security Guarantees for Ukraine were discussed in the meeting. These guarantees would be provided by the European countries in coordination with the US. “Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump posted on Truth Social earlier.Security guarantees likely mean that Europe, and the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” of countries offering to oversee a peace deal, is on the hook to fulfill what they’ve previously promised. Zelenskyy said peace negotiations could be finalized with security guarantees in the next 10 days following his meeting Monday with President Trump at the White House.“Security guarantees will probably be ‘unpacked’ by our partners, and more and more details will emerge,” Zelensky told reporters after his conversation with Trump in the Oval, according to Reuters. “All of this will somehow be formalized on paper within the next week to 10 days.”
On not calling Putin in front of European leaders
Trump told Fox he did not call Putin in front of the European leaders so that it does not become disrespectful to Putin. “I didn’t do it in front of them, I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin. I wouldn’t do that because they have not had the warmest relations,” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”He added, “And actually, President Putin wouldn’t talk to the people from Europe, I mean that was part of the problem.”