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Washington, Feb 24 (AP) President Donald Trump said he was hopeful that Russia's war in Ukraine was nearing an endgame as he met on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of the invasion.
Trump, in broad-ranging comments on the state of the conflict, said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine to keep the peace.
He also expressed hope that the conflict could end within weeks and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would soon come to the US to sign a deal to give the US access to Ukraine's critical minerals to help repay some of the $180 billion in American aid that's been sent to Kyiv since the start of the war.
“It looks like we're getting very close,” Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with Macron. He added that Zelenskyy could potentially visit Washington this week or next to sign the deal.
Trump and Macron earlier on Monday participated in a virtual meeting with fellow Group of Seven leaders to discuss the war.
The talks come at a moment of deep uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Trump transforming American foreign policy and effectively tuning out European leadership as he looks to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine is also looking for future security guarantees as part of any agreement. Trump, however, did not say whether the emerging deal would include American security guarantees.
“Europe is going to make sure nothing happens,” Trump said.
The anniversary - and talks - come at an unnerving moment for much of Europe witnessing a dramatic shift in American foreign policy with Trump's return to power.
Trump also has made demands for territory - Greenland, Canada, Gaza and the Panama Canal - as well as precious rare earth minerals from Ukraine. Just over a month into his second term, the “America First” president has cast an enormous shadow over what veteran US diplomats and former government officials had regarded as America's calming presence of global stability and continuity.
“We have necessity to have guarantees for solid peace,” Macron said at the start of the meeting. “This is very important moment for Europe as well.” Trump said he also believed Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end Russia's war there.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he's not looking for more war." Despite some notable hiccups, the military, economic and moral power of the United States has dominated the post-World War II era, most notably after the Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. All of that, some fear, may be lost if Trump gets his way and the US abandons the principles under which the United Nations and numerous other international bodies were founded.
“The only conclusion you can draw is that 80 years of policy in standing up against aggressors has just been blown up without any sort of discussion or reflection,” said Ian Kelly, a US ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and first Trump administration and now a professor at Northwestern University.
Trump is set to hold a meeting Thursday with another key European leader, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The talks come after Trump shook Europe with repeated criticism of Zelenskyy for failing to negotiate an end to the war and rebuffing a push to sign off on a deal giving the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, which could be used in the American aerospace, medical and tech industries.
European leaders also were dismayed by Trump's decision to dispatch top aides for preliminary talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European officials at the table.
Meanwhile, the United States on Monday failed to get the UN General Assembly to approve its resolution urging an end to the war without mentioning Moscow's aggression. The assembly approved a dueling European-backed Ukrainian resolution demanding Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine.
On the minerals deal, Zelenskyy initially bristled, saying it was short on security guarantees for Ukraine. He said Sunday on X that “we are making great progress“ but noted that "we want a good economic deal that will be part of a true security guarantee system for Ukraine.” Trump administration officials say they expect to reach a deal this week that would tie the US and Ukrainian economies closer together - the last thing that Russia wants.
It follows a public spat, with Trump calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” and falsely charging Kyiv with starting the war. Russia, in fact, invaded its smaller and lesser-equipped neighbour in February 2022.
Zelenskyy, who said Sunday in response to a question that he would trade his office for peace or to join NATO, then angered Trump by saying the US president was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space." Confronting Trump might not be the best approach, analysts say.
“The response to President Trump doing something to you is not to do something back right away. You tend to get this kind of reaction,” said retired Rear Adm Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies.
Macron said he intended to tell Trump it's in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to show weakness to Putin during US-led negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. He also suggested he'll make the case that how Trump handles Putin could have enormous ramifications for US dealings with China, the United States' most significant economic and military competitor.
“You can't be weak in the face of President Putin. It's not you, it's not your trademark, it's not in your interest," Macron said on social media ahead of the visit. "How can you then be credible in the face of China if you're weak in the face of Putin?'” Yet, Trump has shown a considerable measure of respect for the Russian leader. Trump said this month he'd like to see Russia rejoin what is now the Group of Seven major economies. Russia was suspended from the G8 after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Trump dismissed Zelenskyy's complaints about Ukraine and Europe not being included in the opening of US-Russia talks, suggesting he's been negotiating “with no cards, and you get sick of it”. (AP) SCY SCY
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