Munich, Feb 14: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the United States, including the Biden administration, never saw Ukraine as a NATO member.
Zelenskyy spoke Friday to the Munich Security Conference.
He is expected to meet with US Vice President JD Vance later. Many observers, particularly in Europe, hope Vance will shed at least some light on US President Donald Trump’s ideas for a negotiated settlement to the war following a phone call between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week.
Europe works on plan to send troops to Ukraine for post-war security
Increasingly alarmed that US security priorities lie elsewhere, a group of European countries has been quietly working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine to help enforce any future peace settlement with Russia.
Britain and France are at the forefront of the effort, though details remain scarce. The countries involved in the discussions are reluctant to tip their hand and give Russian President Vladimir Putin an edge should he agree to negotiate an end to the war he launched three years ago.
What is clear is that President Zelenskyy needs a guarantee that his country’s security will be assured until peace takes hold. The best protection would be the NATO membership that Ukraine has long been promised, but the US has taken that option off the table.
“I won’t get into the particular capabilities, but I do accept that if there is peace then there needs to be some sort of security guarantee for Ukraine and the UK will play its part in that,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in cautious remarks on Thursday.
The Europeans began exploring what kind of force might be needed about a year ago, but the sense of urgency has grown amid concern that US President Donald Trump might go over their heads, and possibly even Ukraine’s, to clinch a deal with Putin.
Many questions remain unanswered but one stands out: what role, if any, might the United States play? (AP)
