Kyiv is working with allies on security guarantees akin to NATO’s mutual protection pledge, Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelensky has said.
Officials from Ukraine and allies the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany met in London on Thursday in a week when a peace proposal was produced which outlined an Article 5-like agreement which would be backed by Washington.
Zelensky said the proposal was not for Article 5 protection—in which an attack on one alliance member was considered an attack on all—but it could mirror the pact’s protection.
Why It Matters
Ukraine has expressed concern at the level of security guarantees against Russian aggression in a U.S. proposal. President Donald Trump has said part of a peace deal could see Kyiv barred from joining NATO. Zelensky’s comments suggest that Ukraine can benefit from security guarantees outside of the alliance’s mutual defense pact.
What to Know
Zelensky told journalists on Friday that Ukraine had worked on security guarantees during the meeting in London the previous day. He said if Kyiv could not join NATO then it needed security guarantees against future Russian aggression.
Kyiv does not propose NATO’s Article 5 protection, but he did express optimism there could be guarantees that were like the protection it offers.
Zelensky spoke with Trump in Rome on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis with the White House saying that more in depth talks would be held later.
It was their first meeting since an ill-tempered exchange in the White House in February during which Zelensky was accused by Trump’s Vice President JD Vance of not showing enough gratitude for American support.
Trump has previously suggested the presence of American contractors in Ukraine, as part of a minerals deal, would act in itself as a security guarantee, but Ukraine’s military security would now fall to Europe.
European leaders have signed up to a “coalition of the willing” to defend any peace deal with troops on the ground, provided it has U.S. support.
Crimean Recognition
As well as banning NATO membership for Ukraine, Washington’s proposals include recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and freezing the war largely along existing battle lines.
But this would leave Moscow in de facto control of the four Ukrainian regions says it has annexed but does not fully control—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and such a prospect has prompted anger among Ukrainian figures.
Olga Oliker, director of the Europe and Central Asia program at the International Crisis Group, told Newsweek on Thursday that while there is already de facto recognition of Russian control of Crimea internationally, the Trump administration’s proposal for formal recognition would be a big blow to international law.
She also said it was notable that until now Moscow said it did not want a ceasefire unless the Ukrainians leave big parts of Ukraine.
But expressing willingness to the Trump administration to agree a deal with lines ostensibly frozen, while delaying aspects they had said were critical, like curtailing Ukraine’s military size, is a big change in Russia’s position, Oliker said.
“Maybe this isn’t the deal but maybe there is a deal to be had for a ceasefire and then for further negotiations that could lead to something more sustainable,” she added.
What People Are Saying
Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky said Ukraine was working with allies on security guarantees that were “not Article 5 itself, but specifically those forces and the protection that Article 5 provides to NATO countries.”
What Happens Next
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. could walk away from talks if things do not progress towards a deal soon.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” Rubio said in Paris after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders. “If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he’s going to say, ‘well, we’re done’.”
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