Latest news with #securityguarantee
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NATO-like protection for Ukraine in focus as Zelensky, European leaders head for Trump meeting
European and NATO leaders are joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump as US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday said Russia is open to the idea of the US and its European allies offering Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate. European leaders said Sunday they would join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday, as they try to find a way to end Russia's offensive. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday but the talks failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire – though White House envoy Steve Witkoff said both leaders had agreed to provide "robust security guarantees" to Ukraine. Read moreRed carpet welcome but no Ukraine deal: key takeaways from the Trump-Putin summit Witkoff, who took part in the Trump-¨Putin talks in Alaska, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing.' '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 told 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 Zelensky and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House. Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against one or more member nations shall be considered an attack against them all. What needed to be hammered out at this week's talks were the contours of any security guarantees, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also participated in the summit. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the US 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 said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio said it would be 'a huge concession." The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Before Sunday, US officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success. Zelensky hails 'historic' US security guarantees reports European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday hailed the reports of robust security guarantees for Ukraine. But Zelensky, speaking alongside her at a news conference in Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees. "What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin's thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees," he said. Zelensky later said on social media that the US offer regarding security guarantees was "historic". Moscow denounces Macron French President Emmanuel Macron, who will take part in the Washington meeting along with von der Leyen and others, said European leaders would ask Washington "to what extent" they were ready to contribute to the security guarantees offered to Ukraine in any peace agreement. Read moreUkraine and Europe must present 'united front', says Macron ahead of White House meeting Of Moscow's position, he said: "There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia." Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called that an "abject lie" in a statement on Telegram later Sunday. Moscow had been proposing a "peaceful resolution" of the conflict for seven years under the terms of the Minsk Accords, she said. Macron, she added, was trying to convince Ukraine that it could win on the battlefield even when he knew that that was "impossible". Hopes for 'productive meeting' Trump, who pivoted after the Alaska meeting to say he was now seeking a peace deal rather than a ceasefire, on Sunday posted "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. Trump's sudden focus on a peace deal aligns with the stance long taken by Putin, one which Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as Putin's way to buy time while trying to make battlefield gains. Zelensky also said he saw "no sign" the Kremlin leader was prepared to meet him and Trump for a three-way summit, as had been floated by the US president. The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to appear alongside Zelensky call themselves the "coalition of the willing". As well as von der Leyen and Macron, they include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Also heading to Washington will be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who get on well with Trump. On Sunday they all held a video meeting to prepare their joint position. (FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says
NEW YORK (AP) — Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to 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. '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," he said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' He added that it "was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said 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.' Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday's summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to 'robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing." He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear. 'It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said, 'But 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 task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.' Witkoff defended Trump's decision to abandon his push for Russian to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal,' he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be 'additional consequences' as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn't going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn't at the talks. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that. And the way we're trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.' Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn't off the table but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.' 'The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,' Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' He also said 'we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement' and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. 'We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we're still a long ways off,' Rubio said. Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin. 'I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,' Witkoff said. He added: 'The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians -- that could not have been discussed at this meeting' with Putin. "We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.' Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top Trump envoy says Putin agreed to ‘game-changing' security protections for Ukraine at Alaska summit with U.S. president
Donald Trump's top Middle East envoy said that a trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. was likely to occur in the days ahead but did not provide specifics regarding the deal reached between the president and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. However U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and its European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee at his meeting with Trump. '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 told CNN. He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called them 'game-changing.' But the envoy wouldn't specify whether the security guarantee could lead to what Trump and his followers have long opposed — a promise to directly engage U.S. troops in defense of Ukraine should Russia continue crossing Trump's red lines. Trump met with Putin for nearly three hours Friday at a U.S. military base in Anchorage. In their first meeting in six years the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine. Trump has pushed for peace in the region but no ceasefire deal came out of the talks. Also during the Sunday CNN interview, Witkoff declined to say whether a Russian demand for Ukraine to cede the entire occupied Donbas region was being considered by the U.S. '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, when President Zelensky arrives with his delegation,' he said. 'We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace deal that President Trump pivoted to that place,' he continued. 'We are intent on trying to hammer out a peace deal that ends the fighting permanently very, very quickly, quicker than a ceasefire.' All eyes are now on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's crucial meeting with Trump at the White House Monday. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will join Zelensky, and other European leaders at the talks. Finnish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron are among those who will be on hand to prevent any flare-ups between the Ukrainian president and Trump. Coverage of that meeting has largely centered around the theme of damage control, with European leaders insistent on having a seat at the table for future negotiations. At the same time, the Trump administration is signaling that it will not put significant pressure on Russia to force a peace agreement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appearing separately Sunday on ABC, said that further sanctions on Russia were, for the time being, likely off the table. 'The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong, additional sanctions, the talking stops. Talking stops. And at that point, the war just continues,' Rubio said. He and Witkoff were part of th delegation to join Trump in Alaska for the summit. Rubio added that meant 'more people dead. More people killed. More people maimed. More families destroyed.' Many Republicans have come out publicly to state that Trump was wrong about his assumption in February that Putin 'wants peace' in Ukraine. 'I think he's going to be very careful about what he does,' Sen. Mike Rounds said of Trump backing further Russian sanctions in early August. 'But I think he is clearly disappointed in Putin and I think he is now coming around to recognizing that many of us were right.'
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin agrees that US, Europe could offer NATO-style security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump envoy says
NEW YORK (AP) — 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 end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing.' '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 told 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 Donald Trump at the White House to discuss ending the 3 1/2-year conflict. 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,' Trump said in a social media post. 'STAY TUNED!' Hammering out a plan for security guarantees Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against one or more member nations shall be considered an attack against them all. What needed to be hammered out at this week's talks were the contours of any security guarantees, said 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 said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio said it would be 'a huge concession." The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Before Sunday, U.S. officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success. Witkoff also said 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 said on 'Fox News Sunday.' Europe welcomes US openness to such guarantees European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking to reporters in Brussels alongside Zelenskyy, applauded the news from the White House at a time when a European coalition is looking 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 said. Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for recent signals that it was willing to support such guarantees but said 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 task: We need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees,' he said. Defending Trump's shift from ceasefire to peace deal Witkoff and Rubio defended Trump's decision to abandon a push for a ceasefire, arguing that the Republican president had pivoted toward a full peace agreement because so much progress had been made at the summit. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal.' Rubio, who appeared on several TV news shows Sunday, said it would have been impossible to reach any truce Friday because Ukraine was not there. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that." Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, also voiced caution on the progress made. 'We're still a long ways off," he said. 'We're not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We're not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made 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 said Putin reiterated that he wants the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, European officials said. It was unclear among those briefed whether Trump sees that as acceptable. Witkoff said the Russians have made 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 said. 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 said 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 said. 'The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible, impossible to give up territory or trade land.' ___ Associated Press writers John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Putin agreed to let U.S., Europe offer NATO-style protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says
Washington — Russia's Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Trump to allow the U.S. and its European allies to 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 in Ukraine, special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday. "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," he told CNN's "State of the Union." He added that it "was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that" and called them "game-changing." Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member military alliance, states that an armed attack against one or more of the members shall be considered an attack against all members. Witkoff, who had joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, offered few details on how such an agreement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his long-standing objection to Ukraine's potential NATO membership. Outlining some of the details about the private discussions, Witkoff also said Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not "go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty. And there was plenty more." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, applauded the move. "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 said. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington was willing to support such guarantees, but said much was unclear. "It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine," he said, "But 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 task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees." Witkoff defended Mr. Trump's decision to abandon his push that Russian agree to an immediate ceasefire, which the president had set as a benchmark going into the meeting. Witkoff said the Republican president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. "We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal," Witkoff said, without elaborating. "We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal." Rubio said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that he did not believe imposing new U.S. sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire. "If he did this now, the moment the president puts those additional sanctions, that's the end of the talks," Rubio said. "We want to wind up with a peace deal that ends this war so Ukraine can go on with the rest of their lives and rebuild their country and be assured that this is never going to happen again. That's the goal here." Rubio said that Kyiv "is going to have to accept things, but they're going to have to get things too." "For example, Ukraine is a sovereign country. They have a right, like every sovereign country does in the world, to enter into security alliances with other countries to prevent an invasion in the future, to prevent threats to their national security," Rubio said. "That's not an unreasonable request. That's something needs to be worked on." Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders, who heard from Mr. Trump after the summit, are scheduled to meet with him at the White House on Monday. "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 Zelenskyy and the Europeans, enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this," Rubio said.
