WASHINGTON. President Donald Trump on Tuesday assured that U.S. troops will not be deployed to help defend Ukraine against Russia, clarifying remarks from a day earlier that appeared to leave the possibility open.
In a Fox News interview, Trump said Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and reclaiming the Crimean Peninsula from Russia are “impossible.” He stressed, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president,” when asked if American forces would be used to defend Ukraine’s border. His term ends in January 2029.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reiterated that “U.S. boots will not be on the ground” in any peacekeeping mission.
Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European leaders held lengthy talks at the White House on Monday aimed at ending Russia’s war. Trump had not ruled out U.S. participation in a European-led defense effort, but on Tuesday emphasized diplomacy, saying he was optimistic a deal could be reached.
He noted, however, that Ukraine would need to set aside aspirations of NATO membership and its claim to Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. “Both of those things are impossible,” Trump said.
The Republican president also said he was arranging direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. While Leavitt confirmed Putin had agreed to a meeting, the Kremlin has not announced any commitment.
Trump added that the possibility of three-way talks involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy remained open. “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.
Asked about Putin’s intentions, Trump said the Russian leader’s next moves would become clearer soon. “I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it. But you never know,” Trump said. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. That I can tell you.”
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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