The United States has offered Ukraine a 15-year security guarantee as part of a proposed peace plan aimed at ending the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. However, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine would prefer a much longer commitment, ideally lasting up to 50 years, to deter future Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy met US President Donald Trump on Sunday at Trump’s Florida resort. After the meeting, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia were “closer than ever” to reaching a peace settlement. Despite this optimism, negotiators have yet to resolve several critical issues.
Key issues still unresolved
According to officials, talks continue over troop withdrawals, territorial control, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s largest. Trump also warned that the months-long, US-led negotiations could still fail if no compromise is reached.
“Without strong security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelenskyy said in voice messages sent to reporters via WhatsApp.
What the guarantees include
While full details remain undisclosed, Zelenskyy said the guarantees would cover monitoring mechanisms and the presence of partner nations. However, Russia has already stated that it will not accept the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil.
Ukraine has been fighting Russia since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
International response
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump were expected to speak soon. However, he gave no indication that Putin would engage directly with Zelenskyy.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Ukraine’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to finalize their individual contributions to the proposed security framework.
Zelenskyy also revealed that Trump is open to extending the security guarantees beyond 15 years. Any final agreement, he added, would require approval from the US Congress and the parliaments of participating countries.
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