European officials are seeking commitments from the new administration of US President Donald Trump to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine, including in the format of peacekeeping troops, Bloomberg reports.

"The allies broadly agree with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the US will have to contribute troops to any future peacekeeping forces in the country to make such effort credible, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity. Kyiv’s European allies said the US may be on board with the idea, despite Trump’s initial reticence. They stressed, however, that it’s still too early to discuss in detail what future peacekeeping forces in Ukraine would look like, the people said," Bloomberg reports.

If European allies are forced to send troops themselves, it could undermine confidence in the guarantees and cause a rift within NATO, as it would effectively end transatlantic cooperation within the alliance, a senior European government official said.

At the same time, it noted that Trump’s team has demonstrated willingness for the USA to focus on providing security guarantees to Ukraine, which they privately acknowledge is inevitable, according to a senior Western diplomat who has engaged with the president’s team on the issue.

But in exchange for those commitments, Trump may expect Europe to shoulder a larger share of the burden of securing any potential deal. The Europeans understand that the USA expects them to provide the bulk of the troops, the diplomat said, because Trump views the war in Ukraine as a European matter.

Another senior diplomat said the president’s team has also made clear that the new US administration does not intend to directly engage in Ukraine’s reconstruction, which they believe will be handled by the private sector, stressing that discussions are still ongoing.

Ukraine’s European allies have become cautiously optimistic in recent weeks that Trump will not push Kyiv to prematurely begin peace talks with Russia. Trump threatened Moscow this week with financial sanctions if Putin refuses to end the fighting soon.

Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, is expected to visit Kyiv in the coming weeks. He has said he wants a solution within the administration’s first 100 days, after Trump backed away from a pledge to broker a deal to end the conflict within 24 hours.