US President Donald Trump has ruled out deploying troops on the ground as part of security guarantees for Ukraine in a future peace agreement with Russia, but has hinted at the possibility of participating in air support. In a telephone interview with Fox News, the White House resident indicated on Tuesday that European countries will lead efforts to protect the occupied country to prevent a repeat of Russian attacks.
“You have my assurances [that no U.S. troops will be deployed],” Trump said in the interview, one day after the White House summit that brought together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European leaders. During those talks, the U.S. president for the first time publicly expressed openness to the United States becoming “involved” in security guarantees for Ukraine, and did not rule out the possibility of sending troops.
In his remarks to Fox, the Republican gave more details about his plans for a peaceful Ukraine in the future. In that context, Europe would lead efforts to protect the country now invaded by Russia. The United States could participate in the air deployment."As far as security is concerned, they're willing to put people on the ground," he said."We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably... by air, because no one else has the kind of things we have," he added.
Security guarantees for Ukraine have so far been one of the major unresolved issues in the run-up to a potential peace agreement with Russia. Zelensky and the Europeans are demanding some form of protection to prevent Moscow from repeating its aggression in the future. But Trump has consistently avoided committing to this, claiming that his security guarantee was the agreement on the joint exploitation of Ukrainian natural resources signed with Kyiv this spring.
After concluding Monday's summit, the Republican wrote in a message on his social media platform, Truth, that security guarantees"will be provided by several European countries, in coordination with the United States." "I don't think it's going to be a problem, honestly. I think Putin is tired of all this. I think everyone is tired of this," he added.
For her part, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated in her weekly press conference that Trump has ordered his national security team to coordinate with European allies to outline the guarantees. That team, provisionally headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will also be in contact with Russia and Ukraine on the matter.
Ukrainian drones
The White House summit devoted a significant portion of its deliberations to addressing these guarantees. Zelensky proposed, among other things, a massive $90 billion (€77 billion) US arms purchase, the sum of which would be disbursed by European allies. For its part, the United States would import drones from Ukraine (which has emerged as a true power in the sector during the war), although the Ukrainian leader clarified that the agreement has not yet been formalized. The guarantees, he said, will be put on paper"in the next seven to ten days."
The European participants point out that the guarantees would be similar to those provided by Article 5 of NATO's founding charter—which obliges the mutual defense of its members—even if kyiv is not a member. But Trump has insisted that Ukraine will not have any route to entry into the Alliance. “There will be some kind of security. [That security] cannot be NATO because that is simply something that will never, ever happen.”
The US president also confirmed in the interview that he interrupted talks with European leaders toward the end of the meeting to call Russian leader Vladimir Putin and propose a meeting with Zelensky.
The idea is for the two enemies to face each other, something that, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, could happen in two weeks. Afterward, a three-party format would be adopted, between Zelensky, Putin, and Trump.
“I thought it best if they meet first. They haven't exactly been the best of friends... The only thing that matters is that we get things resolved. I hope President Zelensky does what he needs to do. He needs to show some flexibility,” Trump said in his interview on Tuesday. The American maintains that a meeting between the two enemies is possible. “Maybe they're starting to get along a little better than I thought. [...] There has to be some kind of relationship, otherwise we're just wasting a lot of time,” he added.
Trump has not specified whether Putin expressed a willingness to meet with Zelensky during that conversation. So far, the Kremlin has emphasized that a meeting"between heads of state" must be "carefully prepared." The US president acknowledged in his interview that the Russian might not want to reach an agreement. He clarified that, in that case, Putin would be"in a difficult situation." "We'll find out in a couple of weeks," he insisted.
In any case, he stressed, it will be up to Moscow and kyiv to agree on the terms of a future peace agreement."They are the ones who have to decide... we are 10,000 kilometers away," he concluded.
