Uncertainty clouds Europe's security guarantees for Ukraine, warns expert

Washington: As officials from the United States and NATO met virtually on Wednesday to discuss the security guarantees for Ukraine following US President Donald Trump’s meeting with the leaders of European countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, a leading international affairs expert cited that it would remain a contentious issue, not for Russia but for Ukraine’s European friends.

Speaking exclusively with IANS, Mikhail Troitskiy, a visiting Professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, asserted that only a few countries would sign up to “recurring donation”.

“There’s a huge problem here which is the willingness of those western partners to support Ukraine. Some European countries would want to provide some funding, a couple of $100 million or maybe a billion dollars to Ukraine to support its military and security infrastructure. Also, not many would want to put troops on the ground and get involved in actual fighting if Ukraine is attacked by Russia again,” Troitskiy mentioned. He also argued that Russia does not have the “ability to veto” security guarantees or any other assistance to Ukraine.

“To me, Russia’s position on security guarantees seems to be irrelevant. It’s a bit of a red herring. Russia doesn’t have a strong hand here. This is something that is decided between Ukraine and its Western partners,” says Troitskiy who has over two decades of expertise in Russia-focused strategic developments.

He termed the US-Europe meetings on Monday a “show of unity” with Trump “acting more as a mediator and a non-partisan player than a Ukraine supporter” and highlighted that significant details are yet to be ironed out. (IANS)

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