President Trump announced on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to allow European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine as part of a potential agreement to bring an end to the ongoing three-year conflict.
“Yeah, he will accept that. I’ve asked him that question,” Trump stated in the Oval Office during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war. He doesn’t mind,” Trump continued.
“But I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”
The details regarding where these peacekeepers might be positioned remain unclear. It is uncertain if they would be placed in Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine or stationed in Ukrainian-held regions to prevent further aerial assaults.
Macron, speaking through a translator, indicated that his country would consider sending forces but emphasized that their role would be strictly peacekeeping. “They would not be along the front lines, they would not be part of any conflict. They would be there to ensure that the peace is respected,” he explained.
Monday’s discussions marked the first of two significant engagements between Trump and European leaders this week. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also supports deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine, is scheduled to meet with Trump on Thursday.
Trump also mentioned that he is open to visiting Putin in Moscow after hostilities subside, though he ruled out attending Russia’s May 9 commemorations of the Allied victory in World War II.
“If this all gets settled out, which I think it will, sure I would go and he’d come here too,” Trump remarked.
The president’s comments came shortly after the United States aligned with Russia in rejecting a United Nations resolution advocating for a “just, comprehensive and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
“I would rather not explain it now, but it’s sort of self-evident,” Trump said when asked about the U.S. vote. The measure was also opposed by Belarus, Haiti, Hungary, Israel, Nicaragua, and North Korea, among others.
Trump also suggested that economic collaboration between the United States and Russia could play a role in stabilizing relations post-war, following years of stringent American sanctions.
“We’re trying to do some economic development deals [with Russia]. They have a lot of things that we want, and we’ll see. I mean, I don’t know if that will come to fruition, but we’d love to be able to do that, if we could,” he said.
“You know, they have massive rare earth. It’s a very large — it’s actually the largest in terms of land. It’s by far the largest country. And they have very valuable things that we could use, and we have things that they could use, and it would be very good if we could do that. I think it would be a very good thing for world peace and lasting peace.”
He further noted that securing peace is the primary objective but left open the possibility of broader economic agreements in the future.
“The first element of the overall transaction is ending the war. But if, just as we’re doing with Ukraine, if we could do some economic development in terms of Russia and getting things that we want, something like that would be possible, yes.”
{Matzav.com}