Trump: We'll consider guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO Article 5

President of the United States Donald Trump confirmed that he will discuss with partners the option of security guarantees for Ukraine in the format of NATO Article 5. He said that during a meeting with the head of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

The journalist asked if Trump could explain the decision to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, as in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (an attack on one is an attack on all), but stop insisting on Kyiv's full membership in the Alliance.

"Well, we haven't done anything about it yet. If you look back, long before the president Putin there was always a statement that they [the partners] would never allow Ukraine to join NATO. This statement was made. But we have not discussed this issue yet. We will discuss it today," the US president replied.

At the same time, he added that the United States will provide Ukraine with "very good protection," and noted that European partners want to help Washington with this.

However, Trump did not answer whether US troops would be involved in these guarantees.

Earlier, on August 17, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated that Trump is ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, which "will be similar to NATO's Article 5".

• Read about this and other events in the chronicle by LIGA.net on the progress of negotiations.