Kathmandu: US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war. He shared this information while speaking before bilateral talks with his French counterpart at the White House. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Europe is prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. However, Macron clarified that peacekeepers would not be sent to the frontline, as reported by The Guardian.

Trump commented that he sees no objection to sending European troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers, mentioning that he had already raised this issue with President Putin. French President Macron visited Washington on Monday to discuss Ukraine and US-Europe relations with Trump. Macron told Trump that Europe is ready to “step up” defense spending. However, he emphasized that “strong” US involvement is necessary to secure any peace agreement in Ukraine. Macron said that while discussing “long-term peace,” Kyiv “must be involved in the talks.”

While the US President spoke alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, the leaders were attempting to bridge transatlantic differences to achieve peace. However, during this meeting, the US voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, siding with North Korea, Belarus, and other Russia-aligned countries over European allies. This move has faced accusations in the US, with Democrats sharply criticizing it as “disgraceful.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Macron firmly stated that Europe is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. In response, Trump said he sees no objection to European troops being sent to Ukraine as peacekeepers. “Yes, Putin will accept it,” the US President expressed optimistically. “I’ve asked him this question. Look, if we make this deal, he won’t be seeking more war. He doesn’t mind. But I specifically asked him this question. He has no problem with it,” Trump said confidently. At a joint press conference in the East Room, he told reporters, “It’s time to end this bloodshed and restore peace. We’ve had some excellent conversations, including with Russia… Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible and ultimately a lasting peace.”

The US President claimed that he has made more progress in the past month than in the previous three years. “I think Emmanuel agrees with me on most of the important issues,” he said. “Europe must take a central role in ensuring the long-term security of Ukraine.”

Macron responded, “Very concrete steps have been taken forward,” but emphasized that peace “must not mean Ukraine’s surrender or a ceasefire without guarantees.”

Meanwhile, on Monday, Putin also signaled that he is not opposed to Europe’s involvement in the talks. In a televised interview reported by Agence France-Presse, the Russian President said, “Not only European ‘countries’ but other countries too have the right and can participate.”

At the joint press conference, Trump said, “Before I came here, there was no communication with Russia at all. Russia wasn’t answering calls… But after I got here, one of the first calls I made was to President Putin, and we were treated with great respect, and they want to end this war, which is a big thing.”

He added, “I think it’s very much in Russia’s benefit to make a deal and lead Russia in a positive way.” But Macron warned, “I think it’s super important to move toward peace. But my strong stance was: ‘Let’s first get something that can be assessed, checked, and verified.’” He added, “We want peace, but we don’t want a weak agreement.” This news has been widely published and broadcast by Western media with significant importance. Meanwhile, it has already been made public that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Trump on Thursday.

Zelensky to Meet Trump for Minerals Deal

Trump and his team have been negotiating a mineral revenue-sharing agreement with Ukraine to recover some of the funds sent to Kyiv to repel Russia. Earlier, in the Oval Office, Trump described the minerals deal as “very close” and said he might meet Zelensky soon to finalize the agreement.

“He might come this week or next week to sign the agreement, which would be nice,” Trump said, also mentioning that he would meet Putin at some point. Although Zelensky rejected US demands last week for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid—claiming the US has not provided that amount so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the deal—it now appears he has relented. When asked if Ukraine should cede territory to Russia as part of a negotiated end to the conflict, Trump said, “We’ll see,” noting that talks have just begun.

Macron became the first European leader to visit Trump at the White House since he regained power a month ago. He spent one hour and 45 minutes in a morning session with Trump, as reported by Trump social site post. During this time, both leaders also participated in a video conference with G7 leaders discussing Ukraine.

The two leaders displayed friendliness, but a disagreement emerged during the press conference when Trump made false claims about war funding. Trump said, “Just so you understand, Europe is lending money to Ukraine. They get their money back.” Macron interjected, touching Trump’s arm, saying, “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants. We have $230 billion in frozen Russian assets in Europe. But this is not collateral for a loan because it doesn’t belong to us. So they are frozen.”

Trump responded, “If you believe that, it’s fine with me. They get their money back, we don’t. But now we will too.”

Trump reiterated that the minerals deal with Ukraine is “very close.” He stated that this deal could lead to a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky soon, and he also mentioned the possibility of meeting Putin at some point, as reported by Reuters. Last week, Zelensky rejected US demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth to repay Washington for wartime aid, arguing that the US hasn’t provided that amount so far and no specific security guarantees were offered in the deal. However, it now appears that Zelensky is softening his stance ahead of these claims.