US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin accepts the idea of Europe sending peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire agreement, and French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe is ready to help.
"Yeah, he will accept that," Trump said about Putin's acceptance of a peacekeeping force. "I specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it."
Macron, the first European leader to visit Trump since he regained power a month ago, said Europe has a role to play in providing security guarantees. He said first a truce needs to be negotiated and then a peace agreement backed up by security guarantees.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to visit Trump later in the week, amid alarm in Europe over Trump's hardening stance toward Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the conflict. Macron and Starmer are expected to try to convince Trump not to rush to a ceasefire deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin at any cost, keep Europe involved and discuss military guarantees to Ukraine.