Trump says US could provide air support to Ukraine
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The news: US President Donald Trump said that a postwar security guarantee for Ukraine could involve air support provided by the US.
The context: Speaking ‘Fox & Friends’ the morning after White House meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leader, Trump said that Vladimir Putin would face a “rough situation” if he did not co-operate on a peace deal.
Trump told the program that US forces could assist Ukraine’s allies in deterring future attacks from Russia. “When it comes to security, [the Europeans are] willing to put people on the ground.”
“We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably talk about by air, because there’s nobody [who has the] kind of stuff we have,” he added. “But I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”
Security guarantees were a key issue dominating the White House summit, after Putin reiterated the Kremlin's position that it would not allow western troop presence in Ukraine when he met with Trump in Alaska on Friday.
During the interview on Tuesday, Trump ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine and reiterated that Ukraine will not be admitted into NATO. He added that some European nations have agreed to provide NATO-like protections, including security guarantees.
Trump also said that the US would set up a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky to discuss the conflict, but conceded that the Russian leader may not be interested in reaching a deal at all.
“I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it…But you never know. We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. It’s possible he does not want to make a deal,” Trump said.
