WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine in a potential breakthrough that could help end the Kremlin’s war against Kyiv.
“He will accept that. I have asked him that question,” Trump said of Putin, when asked directly about the deployment of European troops. “Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war … I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”
If Trump has interpreted Putin correctly, it would be a major U-turn from the Russians, who have insisted that deploying foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine would represent an escalation.
Sitting beside French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office, Trump also expressed confidence the war could end “within weeks,” but warned that, without an agreement, the fighting could spiral into “World War III.”
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are both visiting Washington this week to convince the Trump administration to continue supporting both Ukraine and the transatlantic relationship that has underpinned European security for eight decades following World War II.
Trump’s decision to speak with Putin and brand Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” sent European leaders scrambling to prepare for a world in which they could no longer depend on Washington as a reliable ally. These fears have been compounded by American officials reiterating Russian talking points that Ukraine should give up territory and not join NATO.
European leaders on Monday traveled to Kyiv for a show of support and to announce several new aid packages, while finance ministers in Brussels discussed the possibility of seizing frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine if the United States were to withdraw its support.
Back in Washington, Trump made clear he expected Europe to bear the brunt of any security assurances in a potential cease-fire.
“Europe is going to make sure that nothing happens. I don’t think that is going to be much of a problem, once we settle, there’s going to be no more war in Ukraine,” he said.
Macron was open to the idea. He said France had liaised with other European countries, particularly Britain, on a potential framework for acting as peacekeepers, but without putting soldiers on the front lines.
The French president said it was crucial to include security guarantees for Ukraine that were missing from previous deals between Kyiv and the Kremlin, and hinted they should be underwritten by the U.S. at a press conference with Trump later in the day.
“After today’s discussions, I am convinced that there is a way … to make this solid, lasting peace a reality,” Macron said. “A lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged, but we do need this American backing because this is part of the security guarantees.”
According to Macron, the European peacekeeping force, discussed primarily with the U.K., would be deployed as “a show of support” to Ukraine only if Kyiv and Moscow signed a peace deal.
“We want peace swiftly. But we don’t want an agreement that is weak,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the Kremlin would sign a settlement along the lines of what was mooted on Monday, particularly given its traditional resistance to peacekeepers.
Moscow is also likely to have reservations about Trump’s comments on captured territory. While Trump said it would not be “an easy thing” to regain invaded land, he added he hoped Ukrainian forces would claw back “perhaps some of it.”
Franco-American bromance
Despite their disagreements, the American and French presidents displayed a camaraderie that could, at least temporarily, quell fears of a rift between the two men over Ukraine policy.
They exchanged compliments before answering questions from the press, with Trump saying he had a “very special relationship” with the French president. The U.S. president later shared an anecdote about a dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower that made both leaders laugh.
Some tension, however, broke through — in their body language, over whether Europe’s aid to Ukraine was in fact a loan and whether Kyiv needed to reimburse its benefactors.
After Trump spoke about recouping U.S. aid, Macron delicately asserted that the U.S. was not alone in having backed Ukraine and contradicted Trump on the matter of who should pay reparations.
“This war cost all of us a lot of money. And this is the responsibility of Russia, because the aggressor is Russia,” Macron said. Trump has refused to blame the war on Russia and called the democratically elected a “dictator.”
When asked if Putin was a dictator on Monday, Trump said: “I don’t use those words lightly. We’re going to see how it all works out.”
Trump said he was confident Ukraine would soon finalize an agreement in which Kyiv would cede some of its critical raw materials to America, stating that the U.S. would “get our money back over a period of time.”
With Macron seated beside him, Trump groused about the amount of aid the U.S. had already sent to Ukraine, once again inflating the amount by nearly $200 billion.”We’re in for $350 billion,” Trump said. “How we got there, I don’t know. We had nothing to show for it.”
Congress, in fact, has approved an estimated $120 billion in aid for Ukraine which has enabled Ukraine’s army to beat back Russia’s offensive and hold onto most of its land over the last three years of war.
“It was the Biden administration’s fault,” Trump said, stating — falsely, again — that all Europe’s aid to Ukraine was done “as a loan.”
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