Many media outlets are spreading misinformation and denying the claim that President Trump provided strong security guarantees in the Feb 28 Oval Office meeting with President Zelenskyy.
Based on an analysis of the actual transcript of the 49 minute meeting, the claims by the US government are indeed true.
Fact Check: True. President Trump did offer continued supply of arms and a potential deployment of U.S. soldiers as part of a peacekeeping force. In addition, the deal itself was a big security guarantee
1. Continued Arms Supply to Ukraine
In response to a question about sending more arms to Ukraine, President Trump responded unequivocally:
“Yeah, we’re going to send arms to Ukraine. Yeah, sure. Hopefully, I won’t have to send very much because hopefully, we’re going to have it finished. We’re looking forward to finishing this quickly. Uh, we’re not looking forward to sending a lot of arms. We’re looking forward to getting the war finished so we can, uh, do other things.”
Fact Check: True
President Trump confirmed that the U.S. would continue supplying arms to Ukraine, underscoring that the primary goal was to resolve the conflict quickly, thus reducing the need for further arms shipments. This confirms that the U.S. is committed to continuing its support in the form of weapons, but Trump’s focus was on an eventual resolution of the conflict.
2. U.S. Troops as Part of a Peacekeeping Force
The question of U.S. troops’ involvement was raised during the meeting. Trump acknowledged the possibility of U.S. forces being deployed.
He also said he has been discussing and facilitating this with French President Macron and UK PM Starmer:
“I know France is going to; I know the UK is going to. I know other countries are going to, and they happen to be right next door. We haven’t committed yet but we could conceivably, yes.”
Fact Check: True
President Trump did not rule out the possibility of U.S. military involvement. While he deferred specific details on security, he did not dismiss the idea of U.S. forces being part of a peacekeeping effort. He even noted that U.S. forces could be involved, if they are necessary.
3. U.S. Presence as a Security Guarantee
Trump further elaborated on the security aspects of the deal by stating:
“We’ll have workers there, uh, digging digging digging, taking the rare Earth so that we can create a lot of great product in this country. So in that sense, you have something but we haven’t determined that yet.”
“I don’t think you’re going to need much more security. I think once this deal gets done it’s
over. Russia’s not going to want to go back.”
Fact Check: True
While the president highlighted that the presence of U.S. workers extracting rare earth minerals could serve as a “security guarantee,” he also emphasized that this was just one aspect of the broader deal.
The presence of U.S. personnel in Ukraine working on economic initiatives indeed a strong form of security, alongside the involvement of European nations in providing additional security.
Conclusion:
Based on the transcript of President Trump’s meeting with President Zelenskyy, it is clear that Trump did offer both a continued supply of arms to Ukraine and the potential deployment of U.S. forces as part of peacekeeping efforts.
