Donald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war.
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is to visit Trump later in the week, amid alarm in Europe over Trump’s hardening stance toward Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year-old conflict.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Macron said Europe was prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire including peacekeepers, although they would not be sent to the frontline.
Trump last week branded the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a “dictator” and falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war, signalling a fundamental breach with Europe.
“He may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement, which would be nice,” Trump said, adding that he would also be meeting Putin at some point.
