US offered ‘support’ for NATO force in Ukraine – FT

Washington is reportedly ready to provide “intelligence assets and battlefield oversight” for a post-conflict European-led initiative

The US has signaled readiness to provide support for any European-led “security plan” for post-conflict Ukraine, Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing unnamed European officials. 

Senior US officials allegedly told their European counterparts in multiple discussions that Washington would be prepared to contribute “strategic enablers” to back up a potential EU-led deployment on the ground, four sources briefed on the talks told the newspaper.

The potential assistance could include “US aircraft, logistics, and ground-based radar supporting and enabling a European-enforced no-fly zone and air shield for the country.”

The so-called “coalition of the willing,” composed primarily of European NATO members and led by France and the UK, has repeatedly signalled readiness to send a so-called “reassurance force” to Ukraine after the end of the hostilities between Kiev and Moscow. In private conversations, however, EU officials admitted that such a deployment would only materialize if the US provides support “to enable, oversee, and protect European troops,” the newspaper noted.

Asked for comment by the FT, the Pentagon said the reported measures “are pre-decisional, and the Defense Department will not comment on pre-decisional topics,” referring further inquiries to the White House and the remarks made by US President Donald Trump on Monday. 

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, the US president said that “we haven’t even discussed the specifics of” security guarantees for Ukraine. “We’ll be involved from the standpoint of backup. We’re going to help them,” Trump stated, adding that the EU must take the lead instead. 

“Europe is going to give them significant security guarantees – and they should, because they’re right there,” he stressed.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of deploying NATO troops in any role to Ukraine, warning that the move would only lead to a broader conflict. The stance was reiterated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the weekend, when the top diplomat said the guarantees “must be subject to consensus” while a foreign military intervention of any sort was “absolutely unacceptable.”

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