Trump recounted his White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in an interview with Fox News.
There will be no U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine to enforce an eventual armistice between Kyiv and Moscow, President Donald Trump assured Americans on Aug. 19.
Calling in for an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump recounted his multilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders as part of his ongoing efforts to put a stop to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked Ukraine’s base of international supporters for security assurances as part of an eventual peace process to end the war. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has staunchly opposed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) extending membership to Ukraine and expanding the alliance’s presence along Russia’s Black Sea border.
During his meetings with European leaders on Monday, Trump said Ukrainian membership in NATO was off the table but that there could be a “NATO-like” multinational force to provide Ukraine with some security assurances.
Trump elaborated on his NATO stance while speaking with “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
“[Ukraine is] not going to be a part of NATO, but we’ve got the European nations, and they‘ll front-load it, and they’ll have some of them: France and Germany, a couple of them, UK—they want to have, you know, boots on the ground,” he said.
As the discussion continued, Fox News host Charlie Hurt asked Trump directly to confirm there will be no U.S. troops involved in this potential security umbrella for Ukraine.
“Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president,” Trump replied.
As the discussion expanded to broader regional security in Europe, Trump credited those European leaders willing to commit troops from their countries to support Ukraine. He said those European countries are “willing to put people on the ground” and “we’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air, because there’s nobody who has the kind of stuff we have.”
Trump then predicted that the fighting in Ukraine is unlikely to flare back up once a peace deal is in place.
“I think if a deal is made—you know, famous last words, right?—but I think if a deal is made … I think Russia’s had it, they’ve all had it, and for a very extended period of time, I don’t think there’ll be a problem,” Trump said.
Other security assurances for Ukraine may come in the form of renewed military aid shipments.
In a press conference following his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said he had proposed purchasing $90 billion worth of additional weapons from the United States.
By Ryan Morgan
