It’s unclear why Putin has had this apparent change of mind about international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. Just three days ago, Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom said Moscow outright rejected the idea of British forces posted to a post-war Ukraine.
ADVERTISEMENTUS President Donald Trump has said Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war.
Trump made the comments to reporters at the start of a meeting at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for World War.”
It’s unclear why Putin has had this apparent change of mind about international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
Just three days ago, Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrey Vladmirovich, said Moscow outright rejected the idea of British forces posted to Ukraine in a post-ceasefire scenario.
Speaking at a joint press conference after their meeting, the US and French presidents expressed desire to work towards bringing the war in Ukraine to an end after more than three-years of relentless Russian aggression.
“The purpose of our meeting today is to end another battle, a really horrible one, a war, something that we haven’t seen since the Second World War that is ravaging European soil,” said Trump.
Trump emphasised that his only objective is to bring the war to a close, and achieve, ultimately, a permanent peace.
The 47th US president says that Europe and Washington must work toward restoring global peace. He also praised hailed Macron for agreeing that the “cost and burden” of securing the peace in Ukraine must be borne by European nations.
Macron says the troops that will be sent in to Ukraine will only go in after a lasting truce is negotiated, agreed on, and signed into effect by Russia and Ukraine. After which, European nations are ready and willing to deploy “assurance troops” to be present on Ukrainian soil and ensure the peace is respected.
“These would be peaceful deployments of troops, not for combat. These would be deployments of an assurance force. They would be limited, but they show solidarity. I have also spoken with all of our allies, and there are European and non-European allies who are ready and willing to take part in that effort,” said President Macron.
Macron noted that the presence of European peacekeeping troops is an absolutely essential and integral part of ensuring the longevity of peace. The French leader noted that in 2014, during the Kremlin’s attack on Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea – which it later annexed – Moscow failed to respect a peace deal.
Macron says the French government that preceded him negotiated a peace deal with Putin, but due to the lack of security guarantees, Moscow violated the agreement. The French president added that the same mistake cannot reoccur, noting that Europe must learn from its mistakes and approach any deal with caution.
US-Ukraine minerals deal
Trump also said he was hopeful the US and Ukraine would soon come to terms on a contentious rare earth minerals deal after he met with fellow G7 leaders for a virtual session.
Washington is asking for a 50% cut of all revenues generated from Ukraine’s mineral and natural resources in what US officials are calling payment for previous military support.
ADVERTISEMENTAmerican access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals was first presented to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier in February.
But Zelenskyy rejected the original proposal saying, “I can’t sell Ukraine.”
Washington’s demand for around $500 billion (€477 billion) in mineral wealth was also rejected by Zelenskyy on the grounds that the US hadn’t provided anywhere near that sum in military or financial aid and also hadn’t offered any specific security guarantees.
Speaking ahead of talks with Macron, Trump did not say whether the emerging deal would include American security guarantees.
ADVERTISEMENT“Europe is going to make sure nothing happens,” he said.
There was widespread dismay across Europe by Trump’s decision to dispatch top aides for preliminary talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European officials at the table.
Trump dismissed Zelenskyy’s complaints about Ukraine and Europe not being included in the talks, suggesting he’s been negotiating “with no cards and you get sick of it.”
European allies have recently rallied around Zelenskyy, nervous about Trump’s apparent pivot to Moscow and fears that peace negotiations will take place without Ukraine’s direct involvement and favour Russia.
ADVERTISEMENTMacron said Europe is willing to step up and be “a strong partner” to do more to guarantee defence of the continent, amid fears Trump’s security priorities lie elsewhere.
“I have great respect for bravery and the resistance of, of Ukrainian people. And we do share the objective of peace. But we are very aware of the necessity to have guarantees and solid peace in order to stabilise the situation,” Macron said.
“I think the US and France always stand on the same side. The right side, I would say of history.”
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