Trump to demand EU pay for Ukraine's reconstruction and deploy peacekeepers – FT
Photo: Donald Trump (GettyImages)
European officials are concerned that they will have to bear the costs of post-war security and reconstruction, as they have been excluded from peace talks between the US and Russia over Ukraine, Financial Times reports.
According to the media source, several senior European officials shared their expectations with the Financial Times regarding US President Donald Trump’s statement. They believe that Trump will demand that Europe finance Ukraine's reconstruction and deploy troops there to maintain peace, without US involvement.
"The Americans don’t see a role for Europe in the big geopolitical questions related to the war. It’s going to be a real test of unity. Trump sees us as money. And frankly, we haven’t been clear on what our seat at the table would look like in exchange for that money," said one EU official.
Trump’s calls to Putin and Zelenskyy
Yesterday Trump called Russian leader Vladimir Putin. During the conversation, they discussed a number of topics, including the war in Ukraine.
The same day, Trump had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They discussed the war during their conversation.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte believes that the Trump-Putin conversation "gives the impression" of the beginning of negotiations on Ukraine. However, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied that Trump’s push for peace and his talks with Putin could be considered a betrayal of Ukraine.
