President Donald Trump stated that European countries should take the lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine while confirming Washington’s willingness to assist, according to his remarks to journalists at the White House.

The US president emphasized that America will not abandon Ukraine but stressed the primary role of European partners in the process. “We’ll help them. But we want to save a lot of lives, so we’ll do something with that. I think people expect that. We’ll help them,” Trump said.

However, he underscored that Europe should be first in providing guarantees. “Europe will be first in, by far. And they want to be first in. They want to see it end. Europe wants to see it end,” the American president declared.

Trump’s comments follow recent developments in European security discussions. On 4 September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced after a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” that 35 leaders were ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, with 26 countries expressing willingness to either send troops or provide certain means to support guarantee forces.

Macron indicated that the US contribution would be finalized in the coming weeks. The following day, NBC News reported, citing several sources, that the United States might take a leading role in controlling a large buffer zone created to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression in case of a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin currently has no grounds for ending the war or concluding a peace agreement with Ukraine.

The statements come as international discussions intensify around potential frameworks for Ukrainian security arrangements and the respective roles of transatlantic partners in any future peace process.