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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. troops will not be deployed in Ukraine as part of ongoing peace negotiations with Russia, even as he pledged American support for potential security guarantees.
“Well, you have my assurance — and I’m president,” Trump said in a televised interview, promising to keep the United States out of direct military conflict. “I’m just trying to stop people from being killed. They are losing from 5,000 to 7,000 people a week in a war that should have never happened.”
Trump said a group of NATO allies, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, were prepared to commit troops to Ukraine as part of a “coalition of the willing.” He emphasized that Washington’s role would be limited.
“When it comes to security, they’re willing to put people on the ground,” Trump said. “We have an ocean separating us, [a] big, beautiful ocean, They don’t; they are right there. We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air – nobody has stuff we have, really they don’t have – I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Trump reiterated that U.S. involvement could only come through air and logistical support, while stressing that NATO was not the vehicle for such a deal.
“It can’t be NATO,” he said, noting differences among member nations and their relationships with Russia. “Who would want that? If you were Russia, who would want to have your enemy, your opponent, sitting on your line?”
Trump stressed urgency in moving the talks forward. One European leader suggested waiting “a month or two” for the next round of talks, which Trump rejected.
“I said, ‘A month or two?! You will have 40,000 people dead. You do it tonight.'”
Despite describing his “great relationship” with Putin, Trump cautioned that personal ties were not enough. “It only matters if we get things done. I want to get things done,” he said. “If it works out, I’ll go to the trilat and close it up.”
Zelensky hoped to see the details of the security assurances worked out over the next 10 days.