The leaders of Europe made a show of support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy when President Donald Trump met with him in Washington, DC, on Monday for talks at the White House.
The Ukrainian leader’s experience with Trump and Zelenskyy was not positive at the previous meeting held in February at the Oval Office. He was publicly disparaged and held accountable for the Russian-initiated war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Days after Trump gave a red-carpet welcome to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Alaska negotiations, the European leaders wanted to make sure Kyiv’s interests were taken into account.
One of the main topics on the White House talks was the delicate subject of Ukraine’s security guarantees, much to their relief. Trump offered a US role in Ukraine’s security after he ruled out joining NATO.
Trump stated that Europe would be the “first line of defense,” despite not disclosing the details of the security guarantees.
What would the US role be, and how would it differ from NATO security, in more detail about Ukraine’s security guarantee.
Trump’s statement: what?
According to Trump, “there will be a lot of help” when it comes to security, in reference to the US’s involvement in Ukraine’s security.
Trump added that participating in these security guarantees would involve European nations.
During a summit at the White House attended by Zelenskyy and a group of allies from Europe, Trump said, “We have people waiting in another room, right now, they’re all here from Europe.” The “biggest people in Europe.” They also desire protection. We’ll support them in that regard because they feel so strongly about it.
Trump said, “We’ll help them out, but they’re our first line of defense because they’re there.”
The US president ruled out sending US ground troops to Ukraine in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, stating that security guarantees might include using European troops.
He referred to European allies who he met at the White House on Monday as “when it comes to security, they’re willing to put people on the ground.”
No one has the kind of stuff we have, really, they don’t, Trump said, but “we’re willing to help them with things,” he said, especially if you talk about it on television.
Ukraine has been requesting membership in NATO to protect itself from Russian aggression, but the Trump administration has rejected that request and called it “unrealistic.” He reiterated on Tuesday that Ukraine won’t be able to join NATO.
Trump had urged Europe to take the lead in providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, the prime minister of France, Keir Starmer, the prime minister of Germany, Giorgia Meloni, the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, were just a few of the leaders who took part in the summit on Monday.
Because neither the US nor the Trump administration are genuinely interested in getting involved, postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London’s defense studies department told Al Jazeera.
Zelenskyy’s statement: what?
Zelenskyy stated in a post on X that his meeting with Trump was “a crucial point in the end of the war.”
The United States has sent an important message to us about its willingness to support and participate in these guarantees, Zelenskyy wrote. He did not specify what these guarantees would be, though.
Zelenskyy responded to a reporter with the phrase “Everything” when asked what security guarantees Ukraine needed.
Later, Zelenskyy stated to reporters that the guarantees would be “formalized on paper within the next week to ten days.”
Later, he later stated in a post on X that “national security advisors are also in constant contact with us, and that discussions are taking place.”
The Ukrainian leader added that the country would purchase $90 billion worth of US weapons.
What might be included in Ukraine’s security guarantees?
Ukraine “wants a lot,” Miron said, “but how much of those security guarantees that Ukraine anticipates receiving is another question.”
Even the Ukrainian side, according to her, hasn’t specified what security guarantees it demands, and even details like how many troops are needed.
Support for Ukraine could range from written promises that could be as ineffective as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which Russia pledged to respect but ultimately chose not to, to the actual deployment of Western troops to deter further Russian aggression, according to Keir Giles, an expert on Eurasia at Chatham House.
If Ukraine’s allies set up on-the-ground peacekeeping forces in Ukraine to supplement the Ukrainian army, one way security guarantees might be offered to the country.
Giles claimed that the US and European states have consistently rejected this option without US support up until now.
A “coalition of the willing” would come together in March to create a peace plan to end Ukraine’s conflict, according to Starmer’s declaration in March. The end of the conflict in Ukraine would be secured by this coalition, which is a temporary group of volunteer nations.
Starmer did not, however, specify whether member states would establish bases in Ukraine or whether the coalition would continue to offer security guarantees after the war was over.
One of the main reasons Russia launched its war on Ukraine was due to Kyiv’s NATO ambitions and its expansion into Eastern Europe.
Kyiv has been pushing for NATO membership since the Russian invasion, which would provide security under Article 5 of the 32-member alliance. A NATO member being attacked by an armed attack will be regarded as an attack against all members under Article 5 when one or more of its members are attacked by an armed attack.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special representative for the Middle East, reported to CNN that Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to “effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee.”
Ukraine’s membership in NATO is currently abysmal. Trump stated that a ceasefire agreement would prevent Ukraine from entering NATO prior to the summit on Monday.
Trump’s push for a peace agreement, according to Miron, would show how unlikely it is to reclaim the country’s lost territories militarily.
So Ukraine must choose between the following: “Either they keep on fighting or they accept things as they are, and there are always more chances that they will lose.” According to what I understand, Ukraine won’t be counting on US assistance if it keeps on fighting,” according to Miron from King’s College.
It’s unclear whether NATO members would intervene if Russia resumed its aggression in Ukraine, as NATO currently appears unwilling to directly intervene or confront Russia.
On Tuesday, Starmer will host a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing.
What comes next?
There are no current indications of a Russian-Ukraine peace agreement.
Trump claimed to have spoken with Putin and is working with Zelenskyy after the White House summit on Monday. Zellenskyy stated that he is prepared to “meet the Russian leader one-on-one.”
