Leaders ask president on call to detail security guarantees US could give to European force in event of ceasefire
European leaders have made fresh efforts to pin down Donald Trump on the level of support he is willing to give Ukraine to push back a Russian advance, and asked him to detail the security guarantees he would provide to any European peacekeeping force inside Ukraine in the event of a lasting ceasefire.
European leaders spoke with Trump by video call on Thursday after first holding a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” in Paris, co-chaired by Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer.
The precise commitments made by European states to the coalition of the willing are largely complete but in part depend on the extent to which the US will specify the aid it is willing to give in terms of intelligence, air support and funding.
Many European countries including Germany, Spain and Italy have refused so far to provide troop commitments. A German spokesperson said: “The focus should be on financing, arming and training the Ukrainian armed forces,” a formula that is not vastly different from what Europe is now providing.
