Trump expresses hope war in Ukraine is nearing endgame as he meets Macron

US President Donald Trump said he was hopeful that Russia’s war in Ukraine was nearing an endgame as he met French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of the invasion.

Mr Trump, in wide-ranging comments on the state of the conflict, said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine to keep the peace.

He also expressed hope that the conflict could end within weeks and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would soon come to the US to sign a deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals to help repay some of the 180 billion dollars in American aid that has been sent to Kyiv since the start of the war.

“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Mr Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with Mr Macron. He added that Mr Zelensky could potentially visit Washington this week or next to sign the deal.

The talks come at a moment of deep uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Mr Trump transforming American foreign policy and effectively tuning out European leadership as he looks to quickly end the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine is also looking for future security guarantees as part of any agreement. Mr Trump, however, did not say whether the emerging deal would include American security guarantees.

“Europe is going to make sure nothing happens,” Mr Trump said.

The anniversary — and talks — come at an unnerving moment for much of Europe witnessing a dramatic shift in American foreign policy with Mr Trump’s return to power.

Mr Trump also has made demands for territory — Greenland, Canada, Gaza and the Panama Canal — as well as precious rare earth minerals from Ukraine.

Just over a month into his second term, the “America First” president has cast an enormous shadow over what veteran US diplomats and former government officials had regarded as America’s calming presence of global stability and continuity.

“This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine,” Mr Macron said. “It must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees. This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty.”

Mr Trump said he believed Mr Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end Russia’s war there.

“Yeah, he will accept it,” Mr Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”

Mr Putin said on Monday that he has not discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine in detail with Mr Trump and nor did Russian and American negotiating teams when they met in Saudi Arabia last week.

Mr Putin also said Russia does not rule out European countries participating in a peace settlement.

Despite some hiccups, the military, economic and moral power of the United States has dominated the post-Second World War era, most notably after the Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

All of that, some fear, may be lost if Mr Trump gets his way and the US abandons the principles under which the United Nations and numerous other international bodies were founded.

“The only conclusion you can draw is that 80 years of policy in standing up against aggressors has just been blown up without any sort of discussion or reflection,” said Ian Kelly, a US ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and first Trump administration and now a professor at Northwestern University.

The talks come after Mr Trump shook Europe with repeated criticism of Mr Zelensky for failing to negotiate an end to the war and rebuffing a push to sign off on a deal giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, which could be used in the American aerospace, medical and tech industries.

European leaders also were dismayed by Mr Trump’s decision to send top aides for preliminary talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European officials at the table.

On the minerals deal, Mr Zelensky initially bristled, saying it was short on security guarantees for Ukraine. He said on Sunday on X that “we are making great progress” but noted that “we want a good economic deal that will be part of a true security guarantee system for Ukraine”.

The friction follows a public spat, with Mr Trump calling Mr Zelensky a “dictator” and falsely charging Kyiv with starting the war. Russia, in fact, invaded its smaller and lesser-equipped neighbour in February 2022.

Asked on Monday if he thought Mr Putin was also a dictator, Mr Trump demurred. “I don’t use those words lightly,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Zelensky, who said on Sunday in response to a question that he would trade his office for peace or to join Nato, then angered Mr Trump by saying the US president was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”.