US special envoy says Russia agrees to NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine
Witkoff, who attended the US-Russia summit on Friday, appeared on CNN TV on Sunday. He revealed that the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine was discussed at the summit. Ukraine has been seeking such guarantees.
Witkoff referred to NATO's Article 5, which handles the right of collective defense. The article states that an armed attack against one of the members shall be considered an attack against them all and NATO will respond to it.
Witkoff said, "We got an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee."
His comment indicates that Ukraine could obtain such a guarantee without joining NATO.
The special envoy said Russia agreed to that, but did not refer to details about what form of guarantees would be provided.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the EU welcomes US President Donald Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. She also said the coalition of the willing, including the EU, is ready to do its share.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Europeans to Back Zelenskiy in Washington as Trump Presses Ukraine Deal
LONDON/KYIV/WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to shore up Zelenskiy's position as the U.S. president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump is leaning on Zelenskiy to strike an agreement after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Trump and Zelenskiy will meet on Monday. It is expected that they will have a bilateral meeting prior to the European leaders joining a larger conversation, according to a person briefed on the conversation. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on scheduling details. 'If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS' 'Face the Nation.' Trump discussed Ukraine in several social media posts on Sunday. In one, he promised 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA' in a social media post without specifying what this might be. In another, he said Zelenskiy could end the war 'almost immediately, if he wants to' and seemed to indicate that reclaiming Crimea and joining NATO are off the table for Ukraine. In a post on his Truth Social social media, Trump said: 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Sources briefed on Moscow's thinking told Reuters the U.S. and Russian leaders have discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna, said Russia agreed that any peace agreement on Ukraine must provide security guarantees to Kyiv. 'Many leaders of #EU states emphasize that a future peace agreement should provide reliable security assurances or guarantees for Ukraine,' Ulyanov said on social media platform X. 'Russia agrees with that. But it has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees.' Top Trump officials hinted that the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region – which is already mostly under Russian control – was on the line, while some sort of defensive pact was also on the table. 'We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection,' Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, suggesting this would be in lieu of Ukraine seeking NATO membership. He said it was 'the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defense, in which an attack on any member is considered an attack on all. That pledge may not be enough to sway Kyiv to sign over Donbas. Ukraine's borders were already meant to be guaranteed when Ukraine surrendered a nuclear arsenal in 1994, which proved to be little deterrent when Russia absorbed Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The war has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting of allies on Sunday to bolster Zelenskiy's hand, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a U.S. role. The Europeans are eager to help Zelenskiy avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February when Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has played rounds of golf with Trump this year, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an admirer of many Trump policies. EUROPEAN SHOW OF UNITY European leaders at the Sunday meeting projected unity, welcoming U.S. talk of a security guarantee but stressing no discussions over territory could take place without Kyiv's involvement and clear arrangements to safeguard the rest of Ukraine's land. Some called for an immediate ceasefire, which Trump originally said he was trying to secure during his summit with Putin. Trump later changed course and agreed with the Russians that peace negotiations could come without a ceasefire, an idea dismissed by some of Ukraine's European allies. 'You cannot negotiate peace under falling bombs,' Poland's foreign ministry said in a statement. A joint communique released by Britain, France and Germany after the meeting said their leaders were ready 'to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces.' Some European countries, led by Britain and France, have been working since last year on such a plan, but others in the region remain reluctant to become involved militarily. Zelenskiy said on X there had been 'clear support for Ukraine's independence and sovereignty' at the meeting. 'Everyone agrees that borders must not be changed by force.' He said any prospective security guarantees 'must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe's participation.' Rubio said both Russia and Ukraine would need to make concessions to reach a peace deal and security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed on Monday. He also said there must be additional consequences for Russia if no deal was reached. 'I'm not saying we're on the verge of a peace deal, but I am saying that we saw movement, enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelenskiy and the Europeans, enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this,' Rubio told broadcaster CBS. Putin briefed his close ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, about the Alaska talks, and also spoke with Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Trump said on Friday Ukraine should make a deal to end the war because 'Russia is a very big power, and they're not.' After the Alaska summit, Trump phoned Zelenskiy and told him the Kremlin chief had offered to freeze most front lines if Ukraine ceded all of Donetsk, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskiy rejected the demand.
The Mainichi
5 hours ago
- The Mainichi
European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelenskyy for meeting with Trump
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine and firming up U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland are rallying around the Ukrainian president after his exclusion from Trump's summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelenskyy's side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office encounter. "The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt," said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. "It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump," he said. Putin agreed at his summit in Alaska with Trump that the U.S. and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war, special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." It "was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that," said Witkoff, who called it "game-changing." Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said the European delegation will ask Trump to back plans they drafted to beef-up Ukraine's armed forces -- already Europe's largest outside of Russia -- with more training and equipment to secure any peace. "We need a credible format for the Ukrainian army, that's the first point, and say -- we Europeans and Americans -- how we'll train them, equip them, and finance this effort in the long-term," the French leader said. The European-drafted plans also envision an allied force in Ukraine away from the front lines to reassure Kyiv that peace will hold and to dissuade another Russian invasion, Macron said. He spoke after a nearly two-hour video call Sunday with nations in Europe and further afield -- including Canada, Australia and Japan -- that are involved in the so-called "coalition of the willing." The "several thousand men on the ground in Ukraine in the zone of peace" would signal that "our fates are linked," Macron said. "This is what we must discuss with the Americans: Who is ready to do what?" Macron said. "Otherwise, I think the Ukrainians simply cannot accept commitments that are theoretical." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier at a news conference in Brussels with Zelenskyy that "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." Macron said the substance of security guarantees will be more important than whether they are given an Article 5-type label. "A theoretical article isn't enough, the question is one of substance," he said. "We must start out by saying that the first of the security guarantees for Ukraine is a strong Ukrainian army." Along with Von der Leyen and Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also said they'll will take part in Monday's talks, as will secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte. The European leaders' support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to "shape this fast-evolving agenda." After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is "not off the table" but that the best way to end the war would be through a "full peace deal." Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelenskyy in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could "create obstacles" to derail potential progress with "behind-the-scenes intrigue." For now, Zelenskyy offers the Europeans the "only way" to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI's Melvin. However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be "mindful" not to give "contradictory" messages, Melvin said. "The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump," he added. "Trump won't want to be put in a corner." Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all. Zelenskyy continues to stress the importance of both U.S. and European involvement in any negotiations. "A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States," he said at the press conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen. Zelenskyy also pushed back against Trump's assertion -- which aligned with Putin's preference -- that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war, rather than first securing a ceasefire. Zelenskyy said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin's demands. "It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons," he said. "Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it."
Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
Trump's peace-deal demands leave Ukraine's Zelenskyy with only bad options
Volodymyr Zelenskyy finds himself in an impossible bind: risk Donald Trump's wrath or accept a quick deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine by paying the disastrous price of ceding territory for vague security guarantees that could see Moscow come back stronger in a few years' time. This is the existential dilemma confronting the Ukrainian leader as he travels to Washington for talks with the U.S. president on Monday. Fresh off a summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin that bypassed a ceasefire, Trump has left Zelenskyy little room to maneuver. The situation is made even more tenuous by the memory of his last visit to the White House in February that erupted into a bitter exchange between Zelenskyy and Trump and briefly led to a halt in military support. This time a coterie of European leaders will accompany him, but they have questionable leverage and haven't always been on the same page. The entourage will seek clarity from Trump on exactly what security guarantees the U.S. is willing to provide as it attempts to orchestrate a meeting with the Ukrainian president and Putin. Among the group accompanying Zelenskyy are people Trump has struck a strong personal rapport with, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Aside from avoiding another dispute and maintaining Trump's interest in brokering a deal, Zelenskyy's objectives in the talks include: learning more about Putin's demands, pinning down the timing for a trilateral meeting, and prodding the U.S. toward tougher sanctions against Russia, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Whether he can achieve any of these goals will depend on how much, in the view of European officials, Putin has gotten into Trump's head. After Friday's summit, Trump appeared to align again with the Russian president by dropping demands for an immediate ceasefire as a condition for opening negotiations. Instead, he said he'll urge Zelenskyy to act fast on a peace plan. "Putin has many demands,' Zelenskyy said Sunday at a joint news conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, a stopover to prepare for the Washington visit. "It will take time to go through them all — it's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons,' he said, adding that a ceasefire would be needed to "work quickly on a final deal.' Raising the stakes for Kyiv, the U.S. president sounded open to Putin's demands that Ukraine give up large areas of land in the east of the country, which the Russian army and its proxies have been trying to seize since 2014. French President Emmanuel Macron attends a video conference with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of the so-called coalition of the willing on Sunday at the Fort de Bregancon in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France. | Pool / via REUTERS Despite the harsh demands on Ukraine, there are signs that the U.S. is now prepared to back a deal. Following his meeting with Putin, Trump told European leaders that the U.S. could contribute to any security guarantees and that Putin was prepared to accept that. But it remains unclear what kind of security guarantees are being discussed with Putin, and what the Kremlin leader is willing to accept. "We got to an agreement that the U.S. and other nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to Ukraine,' Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, said in an interview with CNN, referring to the NATO provision that says if one ally is attacked, it is considered an attack on all members. Trump is also under pressure. He had promised that after taking office in January he would quickly end Russia's full-scale invasion, which is in its fourth year. His efforts were mainly targeted at Kyiv but he ultimately had to acknowledge it was the Kremlin that didn't want to stop the war. Trump on Sunday insisted that he made "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA' in a post on Truth Social. But instead of yielding to Trump, Russia has intensified attacks. Civilian deaths have mounted, with June and July the deadliest months in more than three years, according to the United Nations. Ahead of the Alaska summit, Trump said refusal to accept a ceasefire would trigger tough new punitive measures on Moscow and countries buying Russian oil. After the meeting, which included a red-carpet reception for Putin and a shared ride in the U.S. leader's armored limo, Trump called off the threats. Rather than punish the aggressor, he declared he's seeking a full peace deal that includes "lands' swap' and urged Zelenskyy to accept it. On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader reaffirmed his stance that he won't give up territory or trade land. "Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia' at a meeting accompanied by the U.S., Zelenskyy said. "So far Russia gives no sign the trilateral will happen.' Zelenskyy's refusal to accept territorial losses is a position shared by the majority of Ukrainians. But the level of support has softened as counteroffensives sputter and casualties mount. Still, fears are that a further retreat could invite later attacks. Talks in Washington will also be pivotal for Zelenskyy domestically. In late July, he faced his first political crisis since Russia invaded. Thousands took to the streets over his move to undermine anti-corruption institutions. Zelenskyy relented and re-installed independence to agencies that investigate top officials. U.S. President Trump walks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as Putin arrives as Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. | Doug Mills / The New York Times His position in the talks is complicated by divisions between the U.S., Ukraine and other allies. Trump believes Russia can take the whole of Ukraine — although the Kremlin has managed only to seize less than a fifth of Ukraine's territory despite more than 1 million war casualties. Europeans, meanwhile, are wary that favorable conditions could encourage Putin to widen his aggression. "It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' Zelenskyy said on Sunday. "But there are no details how it'll work and what America's role will be, what Europe's role will be, what the EU can do. And this is our main task.' By joining Zelenskyy at his meeting with Trump at the White House, European leaders hope to show support for Ukraine's leader as he faces growing U.S. pressure to agree to a quick deal. Beyond von der Leyen, Rutte and Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have confirmed their participation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will join the talks as well, according to an official. Macron said that any agreement needs to maintain the strength of Ukraine's military, as well as include the involvement of European and even U.S. support, including training and logistics. "Several states are ready to do it,' Macron told reporters outside the presidential summer residence in the south of France, adding that allied forces may also be stationed in "non-hot zones' inside Ukraine. "We're going to present that in asking the U.S. up to what point they're ready to join these forces.' While Trump had gone into Friday's summit with Putin seeking a ceasefire, he'd emerged saying he was going to focus on a final settlement. Witkoff said the switch was made because Putin and Trump made "so much progress' that there was no need for a ceasefire period in which the details would be worked out. "The thesis of a ceasefire is that you'd be discussing all of these issues that we already resolved' in Alaska, Witkoff said on CNN, noting that they couldn't finalize any discussion of land swaps because Zelenskyy needed to be directly involved.
