US President Donald Trump said that European countries will bear a large responsibility for providing defense assistance to Ukraine. This concerns, in particular, air defense systems, CNN reports.

In a briefing with members of the media at the White House, the US president was asked whether he would provide military assistance to Ukraine in the future, in particular after Washington and Kyiv sign an agreement on Ukrainian mineral resources.

Europe will bear a large responsibility for this, the American leader said.

To the remark that French President Emmanuel Macron has asked for American support in providing security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump replied that respective negotiations are ongoing.

“I don’t think that’s [i.e. security guarantees to Ukraine] going to be a problem,” Trump said. “I spoke with Russia about it. They didn’t seem to have a problem with it. So I think they understand.”

And asked about providing air defense systems to Ukraine, the US president said that this should also be Europe's responsibility first and foremost. Trump reiterated that he had had very good conversations with Ukraine and Russia.