Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to finish the war, a U.S. official stated Sunday.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alquestiona, stated it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-modifying.” “We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff informed CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought.
It was expected to be a key topic Monday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White Houtilize to discuss finishing the 3 ½-year conflict.
“BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,” Trump stated Sunday on social media. “STAY TUNED!”
On Sunday night, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can finish the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote. “Remember how it started. No receiveting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never alter!!!”
Hammering out a plan for security guarantees
Article 5, the heart of the 32-member transatlantic military alliance, states an armed attack against a member nation is considered an attack against them all.
What necessaryed to be hammered out at this week’s talks were the contours of any security guarantees, stated Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also participated in the summit. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the U.S. to provide that backstop in any peace agreement to deter future attacks by Moscow.
“How that’s constructed, what we call it, how it’s built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few days with our partners,” Rubio stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio stated it would be “a huge concession.”
The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alquestiona. Before Sunday, U.S. officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin stated their meeting was a success.
Witkoff also stated Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not “go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.” “The Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that would prevent them from — or that they would attest to not attempting to take any more land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders,” he stated on “Fox News Sunday”.
Europe welcomes US openness to security guarantees
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in Brussels alongside Zelenskyy, applauded the news from the White Houtilize as a European coalition views to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine.
“We welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the ‘coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share,” she stated.
Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for signaling that it was willing to support such guarantees but stated much remained unclear.
“There are no details how it will work, and what America’s role will be, Europe’s role will be and what the EU can do — and this is our main tquestion: We necessary security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO,” he stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated the substance of security guarantees to secure any peace arrangement will be more important than whether they are given an Article 5-type label.
At the White Houtilize meeting, Macron stated European leaders will question the U.S. to back their plans to beef up Ukraine’s armed forces with more training and equipment and deploy an allied force away from the front lines.
“We’ll reveal this to our American colleagues, and we’ll inform them, Right, we’re ready to do this and that, what are you prepared to do?’” Macron stated. “That’s the security guarantee.”
Deffinishing Trump’s shift from ceasefire to peace deal
Witkoff and Rubio deffinished Trump’s decision to abandon a push for a ceasefire, arguing that the Republican president had pivoted toward a full peace agreement becautilize so much progress had been built at the summit.
“We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,” Witkoff stated, without elaborating. “We launched to see some moderation in the way they’re considering about receiveting to a final peace deal.”
Rubio, appearing on several TV news reveals Sunday, stated it would have been impossible to reach any truce Friday becautilize Ukraine was not there. “Now, ultimately, if there isn’t a peace agreement, if there isn’t an finish of this war, the president’s been clear, there are going to be consequences,” Rubio stated on ABC’s “This Week”. “But we’re attempting to avoid that.”
Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, also voiced caution on the progress built. “We’re still a long ways off,” he stated. “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one. But I do consider progress was built towards one.”
Land swaps are on the table
Among the issues expected to dominate Monday’s meeting: What concessions Zelenskyy might accept on territory.
In talks with European allies after the summit, Trump stated Putin reiterated that he wants the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that build up the Donbas, European officials stated. It was unclear among those briefed whether Trump sees that as acceptable.
Witkoff stated the Russians have built clear they want territory as determined by legal boundaries instead of the front lines where territory has been seized.
“There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,” he stated.
Zelenskyy has rejected Putin’s demands that Ukraine give up the Donbas region, which Russia has failed to take completely, as a condition for peace.
In Brussels, the Ukrainian leader stated any talks involving land must be based on current front lines, suggesting he will not abandon land that Russia has not taken.
“The contact line is the best line for talking, and the Europeans support this,” he stated. “The constitution of Ukraine builds it impossible, impossible to give up territory or trade land.”
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