Washington is ready to provide air support to Ukraine if a potential peace deal with Russia is reached.
The US President Donald Trump said this in an interview with Fox News.
At the same time, he ruled out the deployment of American troops on the territory of Ukraine.
"When it comes to security, the Europeans are ready to send their people there. We are ready to help them, especially probably from the air," Trump said.
He did not provide details. However, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt earlier told reporters that US air support was “an option and a possibility”.
“The president has made it clear that American troops will not be in Ukraine, but we can certainly help with coordination and perhaps provide other means of security assurance to our European allies,” Leavitt said.
Security guarantees for Ukraine
At the talks in Washington involving Trump, Zelensky, and a number of European leaders on August 18, the issue of Ukrainian security guarantees was key. In particular, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that the parties would begin by considering guarantees similar to those in Article 5 of the NATO Charter.
After the meeting, Trump wrote that the parties discussed what guarantees various European countries would provide under US coordination.
Zelensky reported a package of Ukrainian proposals for the purchase of American weapons worth $90 billion — they should become part of security guarantees.
Later, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that after the war, Ukraine would have the right to conclude security agreements not only with the United States and European countries. Washington is currently working on this.
The WSJ also reported that Rubio could lead a working group that would draft security guarantees for Ukraine. The group would consist of national security advisers and NATO representatives. The security guarantees would include the following components: military presence, air defense, armaments, and monitoring of the cessation of hostilities.
Trump later ruled out deploying US troops in Ukraine, but assured that Ukraine would receive "a lot of land".
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