U.S. President Donald Trump announced during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would discuss security guarantees similar to those contained in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. He also suggested support for potential European forces that could guarantee peace in Ukraine.
Asked whether he was considering sending American troops to Ukraine after a potential cessation of hostilities, Trump replied:
“Maybe we’ll tell you about that later, today. We are meeting with seven great people, great countries, and we’ll talk about it. They will all be involved, but they will get a lot of help when it comes to security.”
Trump added that Europeans are the first line of defense, but declared that the United States would support them.
When later asked whether he intended to offer Ukraine protection similar to NATO’s, Trump responded that he wasn’t sure he would describe it that way, but that European leaders wanted to offer Ukraine security – and America would help them. He also promised to provide Ukraine with solid protection.
Trump further announced that right after Friday’s meetings he was scheduled to hold a phone call with Vladimir Putin and that he had already been in “indirect” contact with him before the meeting.