Feb 25,2025: US President Donald Trump has said Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war.
Trump made the comments to reporters at the start of a meeting at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for World War.”
It’s unclear why Putin has had this apparent change of mind about international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
Just three days ago, Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrey Vladmirovich, said Moscow outright rejected the idea of British forces posted to Ukraine in a post-ceasefire scenario.
Speaking at a joint press conference after their meeting, the US and French presidents expressed desire to work towards bringing the war in Ukraine to an end after more than three-years of relentless Russian aggression.
“The purpose of our meeting today is to end another battle, a really horrible one, a war, something that we haven’t seen since the Second World War that is ravaging European soil,” said Trump.
Trump emphasised that his only objective is to bring the war to a close, and achieve, ultimately, a permanent peace.
