U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Sept. 4, hours after the “Coalition of the Willing” summit in Paris, where officials discussed security guarantees for Ukraine.
At the press conference held after the call, French President Emmanuel Macron said that 26 countries are ready to send troops or contribute other support to Ukraine as part of security guarantees.
The U.S. involvement in the framework, aimed to shield Ukraine from future Russian aggression in the event of a truce or peace deal, will be determined in the coming weeks, Macron said.
Macron added that the U.S. and Europe will impose additional sanctions on Russia if it continues to refuse to participate in the peace process. He mentioned the previously discussed idea of a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as broader talks involving the U.S. and Europe.
The call comes as European capitals push to finalize security guarantees. Zelensky has demanded binding commitments, warning that without them Moscow could regroup and attack again.
The Elysee Palace earlier said the Paris summit assessed progress on security guarantees and reviewed Russia’s refusal to accept either a ceasefire or a peace agreement.
According to European Pravda, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff also attended the talks, leaving the Elysee Palace about 45 minutes after the conference started.
Macron said in August that guarantees would not involve NATO membership but instead rely on a strong Ukrainian army backed by commitments from a “coalition of the willing,” which includes over 30 countries.
The meeting followed White House talks on Aug. 18, during which European leaders pressed Trump to join security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump later said Washington could provide air support as part of the commitments, but ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops.
Although Trump warned of “severe” secondary tariffs if Moscow refused a ceasefire, his administration has so far only imposed a 25% tariff on India over Russian oil purchases.
Despite presenting himself as a peacemaker, military aid to Ukraine has been paused several times under the Trump administration, while peace efforts have dragged on for their eighth month without any results.
Trump told CBS News on Sept. 3 that he had initially thought ending Russia’s war against Ukraine would be straightforward, but admitted it was more difficult than he expected.
The European Union has continued to impose new sanctions on Russia after Trump’s return to office, despite the U.S. reluctance to apply economic presssure on Moscow.
EU diplomat Kaja Kallas announced on Aug. 19 that the European Union’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia is expected to be ready in September.
The EU approved its previous sanctions package on July 18, describing it as “one of its strongest” to date.
Read also: Europe is struggling to show US it’s ready to provide security guarantees alone
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