US President Donald Trump said he was hopeful that Russia’s war in Ukraine was nearing an endgame as he met French president Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of the invasion.
Mr Trump, in broad-ranging comments on the state of the conflict, said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine to keep the peace.
He also expressed hope that the conflict could end within weeks and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would soon come to the US to sign a deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals to help repay some of the 180 billion dollars in American aid that has been sent to Kyiv since the start of the war.
“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Mr Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with Mr Macron. He added that Mr Zelensky could potentially visit Washington this week or next to sign the deal.
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But the meeting came as the US voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, siding with countries such as North Korea, Belarus and Sudan over European allies. Democrats branded the move a “disgrace”.
Mr Trump and Mr Macron earlier on Monday participated in a virtual meeting with fellow G7 leaders to discuss the war.
The talks come at a moment of deep uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Mr Trump transforming American foreign policy and effectively tuning out European leadership as he looks to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine is also looking for future security guarantees as part of any agreement. Mr Trump, however, did not say whether the emerging deal would include American security guarantees.
“Europe is going to make sure nothing happens,” Mr Trump said.
The anniversary – and talks – come at an unnerving moment for much of Europe witnessing a dramatic shift in American foreign policy with Mr Trump’s return to power.
Mr Trump also has made demands for territory – Greenland, Canada, Gaza and the Panama Canal – as well as precious rare earth minerals from Ukraine.
“We have necessity to have guarantees for solid peace,” Mr Macron said at the start of the meeting. “This is very important moment for Europe as well.”
Mr Trump said he also believed Mr Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end Russia’s war there.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Mr Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”
Mr Putin has repeatedly railed against western forces on Russia’s borders and previously said that European or US forces in Ukraine would be a major security issue for Moscow.
Despite some hiccups, the military, economic and moral power of the United States has dominated the post-second world War era, most notably after the Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
All of that, some fear, may be lost if Mr Trump gets his way and the US abandons the principles under which the United Nations and numerous other international bodies were founded.
“The only conclusion you can draw is that 80 years of policy in standing up against aggressors has just been blown up without any sort of discussion or reflection,” said Ian Kelly, a US ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and first Trump administration and now a professor at Northwestern University.
Mr Trump is set to hold a meeting on Thursday with British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The talks come after Mr Trump shook Europe with repeated criticism of Mr Zelensky.
European leaders also were dismayed by Mr Trump’s decision to send top aides for preliminary talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European officials at the table. – AP/Reuters
