Moscow’s continued resistance to European peacekeeping forces – seen by Ukraine as the only viable alternative to Nato membership for guaranteeing its security – is the latest sign of its reluctance to align with Trump’s efforts to swiftly end the war, raising questions about Washington’s ability to persuade Putin to compromise on some of his sweeping demands regarding Ukraine.
Donald Trump has announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal, but the US will not provide significant security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the agreement.
Uncertainty remains over the specifics of the agreement, which would establish a joint fund between the US and Ukraine that would receive revenues from the mining of rare earth metals and other precious minerals in Ukraine, as well as some oil and gas revenues.
Trump, when asked about the specific guarantees he would provide to Ukraine as part of the deal, said: “Well I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much.
Lavrov said the peacekeeping proposals coming from London and Paris were a “deceit” aimed at pumping Ukraine full of more weapons, and would draw Ukraine further into Nato’s sphere and infringe on the rights of Russian speakers there.
