Trump offers assurances that US troops won’t be sent to defend Ukraine

President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before.

Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean Peninsula from Russia are “impossible.”

The Republican president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders held hours of talks at the White House on Monday aimed at bringing an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. While answering questions from journalists, Trump did not rule out sending U.S. troops to participate in a European-led effort to defend Ukraine as part of security guarantees sought by Zelenskyy.

Trump said after his meeting in Alaska last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin was open to the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine.

But asked Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” what assurances he could provide going forward and beyond his term that American troops would not be part of defending Ukraine’s border, Trump said, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president.”

Trump would have no control over the U.S. military after his terms ends in January 2029.

The president also said in the interview that he is optimistic that a deal can be reached to end the Russian invasion, but he underscored that Ukraine will have to set aside its hope of getting back Crimea, which was seized by Russian forces in 2014, and its long-held aspirations of joining the NATO military alliance.

“Both of those things are impossible,” Trump said.

Putin, as part of any potential deal to pull his forces out of Ukraine, is looking for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.

周二，唐纳德·特朗普总统保证不会派遣美军帮助乌克兰抵御俄罗斯，而就在前一天，他似乎还保留了这种可能性。

特朗普在早间电视采访中还表示，乌克兰加入北约并从俄罗斯手中夺回克里米亚半岛的希望是“不可能的”。

周一，共和党总统特朗普、乌克兰总统泽连斯基和其他欧洲领导人在白宫举行了数小时会谈，旨在结束俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争。在回答记者提问时，特朗普并未排除派遣美军参与欧洲主导的保卫乌克兰行动的可能性，而这正是泽连斯基寻求的安全保障的一部分。

特朗普上周在阿拉斯加与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京会晤后表示，普京对向乌克兰提供安全保障的想法持开放态度。

但周二在福克斯新闻频道“福克斯与朋友们”节目中，当被问及他能否保证在他任期结束之后，美国军队不会参与保卫乌克兰边境时，特朗普说：“嗯，我向你们保证，我是总统。”

特朗普的任期将于2029年1月结束，届时他将不再对美国军方拥有控制权。

总统在采访中还表示，他对达成结束俄罗斯入侵的协议持乐观态度，但他强调，乌克兰必须放弃收复2014年被俄罗斯军队占领的克里米亚的希望，以及加入北约军事联盟的长期愿望。

“这两件事都不可能，”特朗普说。

作为任何可能将其军队撤出乌克兰的协议的一部分，普京寻求乌克兰军队从顿涅茨克和卢甘斯克地区撤出，以及承认克里米亚是俄罗斯领土。