President Donald Trump has signaled that the United States will not take the lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, instead assigning that primary responsibility to European nations. This was communicated after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s conversation with Putin was preceded by an August 18 White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, which aimed to address Ukraine’s long-term security needs.
“We have not even discussed the specifics of it,” Trump admitted, referring to the guarantees, but he was firm on the division of labor. He expects Europe to provide the main assurances, with the U.S. acting as “backup.”
In a separate and notable disclosure, Trump also spoke of an August 15 meeting with Putin in Alaska. According to the President, the two leaders discussed the future possibility of reducing their nuclear weapons stockpiles after the Ukraine crisis concludes.