A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Following meetings with President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, European leaders have been urgently trying to figure out what they need to do next to end Russia's nearly four-year war in Ukraine. Coming up in a few minutes, we'll speak with Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, about what a security guarantee would actually look like.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
But one thing the president ruled out is sending U.S. troops.
MARTÍNEZ: From Brussels, Teri Schultz joins us now to talk about the challenges Europe faces, with so many factors still dependent on Washington. So, Teri, how have European leaders been digesting the events from D.C.?
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Well, quickly is the best way I can describe it. It was less than 24 hours after those meetings at the White House that the EU leaders who'd been present there were back here in virtual sessions, debriefing their counterparts. And that urgency just goes to show how high-stakes the situation is for Europe. They had both a meeting of this coalition of the willing - that some 30 countries which have expressed their readiness to physically help support a ceasefire in Ukraine - and they had one with just the 27 EU member countries.
MARTÍNEZ: President Trump has made it pretty clear that he wants Europe to take the lead on Ukrainian security. That's our understanding, right?
SCHULTZ: That's right. And they'd more or less already decided that themselves before Trump became more supportive of Ukraine, but now the president has confirmed it many times over. And the good news for the Europeans is that Trump is now pledging for the first time to help with these security guarantees for Ukraine. Chairing the meeting of EU leaders, European Council President Antonio Costa said Europe is actually now working hand in hand with the U.S.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANTONIO COSTA: Their commitment to participate in the security guarantees with the Europeans and other like-minded countries is a very important step, a very welcome step.
SCHULTZ: Now, Costa says there's still a difficult road ahead. But Europeans are feeling reassured by the new U.S. support.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, how might this look, though, practically? I mean, this coalition has been meeting for months without the participation of the U.S.
SCHULTZ: Well, and also without even a basic outline of what a final peace deal might look like between Russia and Ukraine. So what would be the rules and protections and obligations of such a mission on the ground? In addition, it's been hamstrung since it was created by the U.S. lack of support earlier, which is really critical both in terms of capabilities such as intelligence sharing and surveillance, where the U.S. is dominant, but also the deterrent factor - sort of the stick that you have with an agreement backed by the U.S., especially in the eyes of the Kremlin. So now discussions will take a new, more optimistic shape.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, President Trump says no U.S. troops would join this mission. So how willing are Europeans to send their people into Ukraine?
SCHULTZ: Well, that's a huge unanswered question because it's not clear whether this mission would be to sort of monitor a ceasefire or reinforce it or defend certain lines. And those verbs all mean very different things, carrying different levels of danger for those deployed. In general, European countries are going to have to send forces, and it seems about 10 have committed to doing that so far. But some options are much less palatable than others. And if this is a small force that's just there to deter Russia reattacking Ukraine - this is sometimes described as a tripwire force - what happens if it is attacked? We don't have any answers yet. Or are we going to need to see hundreds of thousands of European military personnel armed to fight back? I think that's pretty unlikely.
MARTÍNEZ: So how does, then, this fit into this idea of, quote, NATO-style security guarantees that the Trump administration first brought up?
SCHULTZ: Well, another unanswered question, but I basically described the dilemma already. With NATO's Article 5, an attack on one is considered an attack on all. So if you apply this to Ukraine, will all European Union members or NATO members, including the U.S., come if it's attacked again after a peace deal? And what about if a European soldier is attacked? I think everyone here is eager to hear what kind of commitments the U.S. is ready to make. And certainly, Trump's latest suggestion that air power could be provided will be welcome.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Teri Schultz in Brussels. Teri, thank you.
SCHULTZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
