President Donald Trump is not considering sending U.S. troops to Ukraine or offering NATO membership as part of security guarantees being discussed with European countries, according to a report Saturday.
Two senior administration officials and three other sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News that Trump spoke early Saturday by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders about a possible U.S.-backed, NATO-like security agreement for Ukraine as part of a deal with Russia.
“European and American security guarantees were discussed,” said one source familiar with the talks. “U.S. troops on the ground were not discussed or entertained by [Trump].”
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy told reporters that the U.S. had not yet offered security guarantees.
He said a future meeting could include the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, and stressed that European involvement was important because Europe has provided security guarantees so far, including financial support for Ukraine’s military.
In a social media post Saturday, Zelenskyy said security “must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the US.”
He added that “all issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy also called for a real, lasting peace-not just “another pause,” and urged stronger sanctions against Russia.
NBC News’ sources said the security guarantees under discussion would not include NATO membership for Ukraine. This position comes despite a joint statement from European leaders today expressing support for Ukraine’s right to join the alliance.
The statement welcomed Trump’s willingness to provide security guarantees but said there should be no restrictions on Ukraine’s military or its cooperation with other countries, and that Russia should not be able to block Ukraine’s path to the European Union or NATO.
According to the sources, the proposed guarantees would apply if Russia were to invade Ukraine again after a potential peace deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance began talks on this with Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, last week.
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