US in talks over Ukraine security role – media

Russia has said any Western troop deployment to the neighboring country would be “unacceptable”

Senior US and European officials have discussed options for potential security guarantees for Ukraine, including the idea that Washington could command a group of forces despite not providing its own troops, several media outlets have reported.

According to Reuters, the chiefs of defense from the US, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Ukraine met in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday to present options to their national security advisers. A source told the agency that US Secretary of State and Marco Rubio also held a conference call with his European counterparts on Thursday to review the proposals.

While the final details have not been decided, European nations would be expected to contribute “the lion’s share” of any forces involved, Reuters reported. A source told the agency that the US is still “determining the scope of its role,” and that one option is the deployment of European forces to Ukraine under US command and control.

Read more

Ukraine not interested in peace – Lavrov

CNN confirmed the US stance on European involvement, with a network source claiming Washington could play a limited role in security guarantees, which may include US pilots flying manned air support missions. European officials have also reportedly suggested that the US continue providing intelligence and surveillance assistance.

ABC News reported that the discussions are in the early stages and are likely to evolve into a wider political debate. One person familiar with the talks told the outlet that if NATO troops are eventually deployed, they would be training Ukrainian forces rather than carrying out operations against Russia.

US President Donald Trump earlier said Washington would not send ground troops to Ukraine, but did not rule out certain forms of air support.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that any foreign military presence in Ukraine would be “unacceptable” to Moscow, arguing that this would be tantamount to “intervention.”

However, he did not rule out security guarantees for Ukraine or Western involvement in principle, while stressing that any arrangement must be “on an equal basis” and take Russian interests into account.