The United States is asking European allies what they need from Washington to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. At the same time, the United States has asked Europe for a list of weapons and troops it can deploy in Ukraine as part of its security commitments.
Reuters reports this with reference to a document that journalists have reviewed.
European governments may welcome such a question from the US White House, as some of them have made it clear that they will provide security guarantees only with US support.
“What requirements for U.S. support, if any, would your government consider necessary for its participation in these security arrangements? In particular, what short-term and long-term resources do you believe would be required from the United States?” the document states.
The document also asks which European and/or third states they believe could or would participate in such an arrangement, and whether their country is willing to deploy troops in Ukraine as part of a peace settlement.
Two European diplomats said the document was still being discussed before a response could be made. Some in the EU believe the response should be collective.
At the same time, Washington asked the Europeans what actions the United States, allies, and partners should be prepared to take if Russia attacks these European forces in Ukraine.
“What additional capabilities, equipment, and maintenance options is your government prepared to provide to Ukraine to improve its negotiating position and increase pressure on Russia?” the document asks.
And they add questions about what Europe is ready to do to tighten sanctions against Russia.
Europeʼs participation in the settlement of the war in Ukraine
After US President Donald Trump announced that during a phone call with Putin they agreed to immediately begin peace talks, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, and the European Union stressed in a statement that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
During the Munich Security Conference, Trumpʼs special envoy Keith Kellogg said that Europe would not be physically at the negotiating table between Russia and Ukraine, but its interests would be taken into account. He added that one of the reasons why previous peace talks failed was that they involved too many countries.
The Axios publication, which revealed the details of the conversation between Zelensky and Trump, noted that the US president supported the idea of deploying European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine — this could become one of the security guarantees.
After that, the AP wrote that a group of European countries were privately working on a plan to send troops to Ukraine to help with post-war security.
The FT noted that the US has asked European countries to provide detailed proposals for the weapons, peacekeeping troops and security measures they could provide to Ukraine as part of any security guarantees. The United States wants to calculate Europeʼs willingness to defend Ukraine after a peaceful settlement, to determine the price Europe is willing to pay in exchange for participating in negotiations with Moscow.
Against this backdrop, French President Emmanuel Macron is calling a meeting of leaders of “major European countries” in Paris to discuss European security and the war in Ukraine. The leaders are expected to discuss US efforts to exclude European leaders from peace talks and the position Europe should take in the context of Ukraine’s future membership in NATO. The conversation will also touch on what security guarantees can be offered to Ukraine, either through NATO or through some European power.
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