Trump says no US security guarantees for Ukraine
The United States has no plans to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, as he is set to sign an agreement on critical minerals with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week to make progress toward brokering a cease-fire between the war-torn country and Russia.
During the first Cabinet meeting of his new administration, Trump said that Zelenskyy will come to Washington on Friday to finalize the deal, which the U.S. leader views as a vital part of talks toward ending Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.
On the future of Ukraine, Trump said, “I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that, because it’s…their next-door neighbor. But we’re going to make sure everything goes well.”
Trump underscored that his first goal is to stop the war and his second is to stop the United States from providing any more money to Ukraine.
His remarks came as Ukraine and European leaders have sought U.S.-backed security assurances for a lasting peace in the country.
Meanwhile, Trump also said Ukraine “could forget about” joining NATO.”That’s probably the reason the whole thing started,” he said, suggesting that Ukraine’s longtime aspiration to be a member of the transatlantic military alliance was what triggered the three-year-old conflict.
Trump and officials of his administration have insisted that finding ways to recoup American taxpayer money used to help Ukraine fight against Russia is essential before enabling Kyiv and Moscow to reach a peace accord.
The envisaged deal would allow the United States to access Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals in exchange for the military aid provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In a lengthy exchange with reporters during the Cabinet meeting, Trump said the United States very much needs rare earths for its future innovation and the deal will bring the country “great wealth.”
“We get back the money that we spent, and we hope that we’re going to be able to settle this up,” he said.
“It’s a great deal for Ukraine too, because they get us over there, we’re going to be working over there. We’ll be on the land,” he added. “You know, in that way, it’s this sort of automatic security, because nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there.
“Since commencing talks with Russia toward ending the war, Trump has not made clear what would be required of Moscow in any potential peace agreement.
Asked about this, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to make some concessions, without elaborating.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the war would never have started if he had been in office at the time, and that negotiations with Russia would not be taking place now had he not returned to the White House on Jan. 20 for a nonconsecutive second term.
He said it is “very tough” to strike a peace deal, but “peacekeeping” is “very easy.”
