Trump offers assurances that U.S. troops won’t be sent to help defend Ukraine

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before.

Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean peninsula from Russia are “impossible.”

The Republican president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders held hours of talks at the White House on Monday aimed at bringing an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. While answering questions from journalists, Trump did not rule out sending U.S. troops to participate in a European-led effort to defend Ukraine as part of security guarantees sought by Zelensky.

Trump said after his meeting in Alaska last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin was open to the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine.

But asked Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” what assurances he could provide going beyond his term that American troops would not be part of the forces defending Ukraine’s border, Trump said, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president.”

Trump would have no control over the U.S. military after his term ends in January 2029.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday emphasized that “U.S. boots will not be on the ground” as part of any potential peacekeeping mission.

The president also said in the interview that he is optimistic that a deal can be reached to end the Russian invasion, but he underscored that Ukraine will have to set aside its hope of getting back Crimea, which was seized by Russian forces in 2014, and its long-held aspirations of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“Both of those things are impossible,” Trump said.

Putin, as part of any potential deal to pull his forces out of Ukraine, is looking for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.

Trump on Monday said that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelensky.

But the Kremlin has not said whether the Russian leader, who has resisted previous calls by Trump and others for direct negotiations on ending the war, has committed to a face-to-face meeting.

Asked whether Putin has promised Trump that he’ll meet directly with the Ukrainian leader, Leavitt said: “He has.”

Trump early on Monday during talks with Zelensky and European leaders said that he was pressing for a trilateral meeting involving Zelensky, Putin and himself.

But after speaking to Putin later in the day, Trump said that he was arranging first for a face-to-face between Zelensky and Putin and that three-way talks would follow if necessary.

“It was an idea that evolved in the course of the president’s conversations with both President Putin, President Zelensky and the European leaders yesterday,” Leavitt explained.

Details and possible locations were not discussed, but an international arrest warrant for Putin could complicate matters.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after the White House gathering — which also included the leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO — that a meeting could happen “in Europe,” possibly Switzerland or another neutral country. He noted in an interview with French television TF1-LCI broadcast Tuesday that Istanbul hosted the most recent bilateral discussions, in 2022.

Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country would be prepared to organize such a summit, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.

Asked about the complication posed by the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin, Cassis said: “The aim of receiving Mr. Putin in Switzerland without him being arrested is 100% achievable … of course, if he comes to Switzerland for the purposes of peace, for such a multilateral conference, not if he comes for private matters.”

Cassis said arranging for Putin to avoid arrest would require “a certain procedure,” but it could be done “in a few days.”

In the “Fox & Friends” interview, Trump said Putin and Zelensky are getting along “a little better than I thought,” noting the “tremendous bad blood” between them.

He said his perception of their relationship is why he’s arranging for them to meet one-on-one soon, instead of a three-way meeting with himself as sort of a mediator.

“I think they’re doing OK. I wouldn’t say they are ever going to be best friends, but they’re doing OK,” the president said.

“You know, they’re the ones that have to call the shots,” Trump said. “We’re 7,000 miles away.”

Superville and Madhani write for the Associated Press.