European Leaders Call for Trump Security Guarantees in Ukraine

European leaders yesterday made fresh efforts to pin down Donald Trump on the level of support he is willing to give Ukraine to fight against Russia, and asked him to detail the security guarantees he would provide to any European peacekeeping force inside Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement.

- Patrick Wintour

The European leaders spoke to Trump by video conference after first holding a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" in Paris, co-chaired by Keir Starmer, who attended on screen, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

The precise commitments made by European states to the coalition of the willing are largely complete, but in part depend on the extent to which the US will specify the aid it is willing to give the coalition, including in terms of intelligence, air support and funding.

Many European countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy, have refused so far to provide troop commitments. A German spokesperson said: "The focus should be on financing, arming and training the Ukrainian armed forces," a formula that is not vastly different from what Europe is providing now.

Alarmed European leaders travelled to the White House after the Alaska summit last month between Trump and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, fearing the US president might be about to force the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, into a humiliating surrender, including loss of territory.