On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commended the United States for its decision to extend security guarantees to Kyiv, modeled after NATO’s treaty principles, as part of a potential peace agreement with Russia. This statement came just ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, attended by European leaders.
Zelensky highlighted on social media that “security guarantees, as a result of our collective efforts, must be practical and provide protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s involvement,” following a virtual meeting of the “Alliance of Willing” nations allied with Kyiv.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff mentioned that during a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, an agreement was reached allowing the U.S. and its European allies to offer Ukraine security assurances akin to NATO’s collective defense clause as part of a potential deal to conclude the ongoing war that has persisted for over three years.
Witkoff elaborated in a CNN interview, stating: “We managed to secure the following concession: the possibility for the U.S. to provide protections similar to Article 5 of NATO’s treaty, which is one of the fundamental reasons why Ukraine aspires to join NATO.”
He noted that this represents the first instance where he heard Putin agree to such terms.
Witkoff also shared some initial details from the discussions that took place at the summit in Alaska, indicating that both sides concurred on “strong security guarantees that I can describe as game-changing.”
He added that Russia announced it would commit legislatively not to seek additional territory in Ukraine.
The envoy defended Trump’s decision to pivot from efforts to persuade Russia for an immediate ceasefire, stating that the President shifted focus towards a peace agreement due to significant progress made.
Witkoff clarified: “We nearly addressed all other issues necessary to reach a peace agreement,” though he refrained from providing further details.
He concluded by mentioning a noticeable moderation in the Russian perspective regarding the pursuit of a final peace agreement.