WASHINGTON—After appearing to leave open the option the day before, President Donald Trump on Tuesday assured that American troops would not be deployed to assist in defending Ukraine against Russia.
In a morning TV interview, Trump also declared that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and retake the Crimean Peninsula from Russia are unrealistic.
In an effort to stop Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Republican president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other European leaders met for hours at the White House on Monday. Trump did not rule out sending U.S. soldiers to join a European-led effort to defend Ukraine as part of the security guarantees Zelenskyy is seeking when responding to questions from reporters.
Following his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, Trump stated that Putin was amenable to the concept of Ukraine receiving security guarantees.
Trump responded, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president,” when asked Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends what guarantees he could offer regarding the future and beyond his term that American forces would not be involved in defending Ukraine’s border.
When Trump’s tenure ends in January 2029, he will no longer have command of the U.S. military.
Later on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that any possible peacekeeping effort would not include American boots on the ground.
In the interview, the president also expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached to stop the Russian invasion, but he emphasized that Ukraine will have to give up its long-standing hopes of joining NATO and regaining Crimea, which was taken by Russian forces in 2014.
Trump stated that neither of those things is feasible.
Putin wants Ukrainian troops to leave the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and for Crimea to be recognized as Russian territory as part of any possible agreement to remove his forces from Ukraine.
Trump announced on Monday that he was setting up direct negotiations between Zelenskyy and Putin.
However, the Kremlin has yet to state if Putin, who has rejected earlier requests for direct talks on ending the war from Trump and others, is willing to meet with the Ukrainian leader in person.
Leavitt said that Putin has assured Trump that he will meet with the Ukrainian leader face-to-face. Regarding Putin, Leavitt stated that he has.
During discussions with Zelenskyy and European leaders early on Monday, Trump stated that he was insisting for three-way negotiations between Zelenskyy, Putin, and himself.
Later in the day, however, Trump claimed he was setting up a face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin first, with three-way talks to follow if needed.
Leavitt clarified that the notion developed during the president’s discussions with President Zelensky, President Putin, and the European leaders yesterday.
Trump stated that he thought the next several weeks will reveal Putin’s strategy.
Trump remarked, “I think Putin is sick of it.” They’re all probably sick of it. However, you never know. In the next weeks, we will learn more about President Putin. I can tell you that.
