Japan Ready to ‘Play Role’ in Security Guarantees for Ukraine

Trump Nudges Zelensky to ‘Show Flexibility’ in Peace Talks, Blames Russia’s Invasion on NATO Expansion

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Japan is prepared to join Western security guarantees for Ukraine under a potential U.S.-brokered peace deal with Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Tuesday.

“We’ll watch the ongoing discussions closely, and while carefully considering what Japan can and should do — including various legal and capability aspects — we'll play an appropriate role,” Ishiba told

Last year, Japan and Ukraine signed a 10-year security deal that pledged nonlethal aid, humanitarian assistance and support for reconstruction. Since March, Tokyo has also been part of the 30-nation “coalition of the willing” providing arms to Kyiv as it fends off Russia’s invasion.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News on Monday the group has been working on guarantees that would “prevent [Russian President] Vladimir Putin from ever trying again to invade parts of Ukraine.” The U.K. and France have already signaled readiness to send peacekeepers, while the Kremlin has warned that NATO troops in Ukraine would “inevitably” trigger confrontation with Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump, hosting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday after meeting with Putin in Alaska last week, claimed the Russian leader would “accept security guarantees for Ukraine.” He pledged “a lot of help” for Kyiv but stressed European allies would be the “first line of defense because they’re there.”

“But we’ll help them out,” Trump told

After the multilateral summit in Washington earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that European officials gathered on Tuesday to finalize a plan to deploy hundreds of British and French troops into Ukraine under a possible peace deal. Those troops would be supported

As part of that plan, U.S. backing would include intelligence, border surveillance, weapons and potentially air defense, according to Bloomberg.

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