Despite the U.S. and Russia holding talks to end the war that exclude Kyiv and Europe, capitals including Paris and London are trying to set up a peacekeeping mission for Ukraine if there is an agreement.
Security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent another Russian attack are a key question, with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heading to Washington this week with the shared objective of wresting military pledges from the U.S.
On the heels of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump remained ambiguous on any guarantees the U.S. would provide, despite the critical minerals deal that Zelenskyy is about to sign in Washington this week.
“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that, because … Europe is their next-door neighbor, but we’re going to make sure everything goes well,” Trump said.
While the Trump administration made clear that no U.S. troops would participate, Europeans are still hoping the U.S. can provide a backstop that could include intelligence gathering, air defense and military transportation.
“This was a waste of time,” said a senior EU official who took part in the meeting.
