NATO defense chiefs to hold virtual meeting on security guarantees for Ukraine
Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO's Military Committee, said that 32 defense chiefs from across the alliance would hold a video conference as a US-led diplomatic push seeks to end the fighting.
US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, will take part in the talks, Dragone said on social platform X.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chided efforts to work on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow's involvement.
'We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work,' Lavrov said Wednesday, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia will 'ensure (its) legitimate interests firmly and harshly,' Lavrov added at a news conference in Moscow with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
Defense chiefs work on details of Ukraine security force
US President Donald Trump met last Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and on Monday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and prominent European leaders at the White House. Neither meeting delivered concrete progress.
Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskyy toward a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbor, but there are major obstacles. They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia won't mount another invasion in the coming years. 'We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace,' Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight.
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