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Europe is trying to understand the exact course the Trump administration is pursuing.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European officials that Washington wants a peace deal with Russia in place before agreeing to any postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, Politico reports, citing an unnamed European diplomat and another source familiar with the talks.
According to the outlet, this has become a key demand the Americans delivered to Kyiv over the past week. During a call with European partners, Rubio said President Donald Trump intends to negotiate long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials view Western security guarantees as a foundation for any viable agreement with Russia. Meanwhile, NATO countries are still determining the best way to support a war-torn Ukraine — whether through military or intelligence assistance. Trump has already said that Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to visit Washington only after a peace deal with Russia is finalized.
Politico notes that Europeans are trying to make sense of the mixed messages coming from Washington. Rubio told allies that security guarantees for Ukraine are a priority for the White House. However, another European official said the issue is being handled separately from everything else already discussed, adding that the U.S. wants all points agreed quickly.
Axios previously reported that Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine includes NATO-style security guarantees. Next week, Trump plans to send his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin.
Trump said he is “looking forward” to meeting Zelensky and Putin “soon,” but only if the war-ending agreement is close to completion.
What should one call a plan in which “peace” is achieved through the victim’s capitulation and the aggressor’s reward? Its “28 points” are less a blueprint for peace and more a series of legal traps — recognition of annexations, “demilitarization” of territories, and restrictions on Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
For Kyiv, accepting these terms would not end the war — it would usher in a new era of vulnerability.
