The United States has reportedly told Ukraine to accept its « platinum » offer of security guarantees or risk losing them altogether. US officials said Nato-style guarantees were on the table on Monday in Germany, at peace talks that could end the war if Ukraine agrees to cede territory to Russia, reports The Telegraph.
However, US sources also warned that « those guarantees will not be on the table forever », in what appears to be an ultimatum to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to the terms . The security guarantees were described as « platinum standard » by US officials, who claimed both Ukraine and Europe were satisfied with the lengths to which President Donald Trump had gone in the proposals to prevent any future Russian invasion.
Details of security deal kept under wraps as 90% of peace agreement ‘already agreed’
The specifics of the security guarantees have not been made public, having been hashed out between Zelensky, US peace envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner during two days of meetings in Berlin. US officials believe 90 per cent of a peace deal has now been agreed by both Kyiv and Moscow.
Trump claims deal to end war ‘closer than ever’ despite territorial disputes
President Trump said on Monday that the deal to end the war was closer than ever, telling reporters in the Oval Office, « I think we’re closer now than we have been ever. » However, there is still no agreement on territorial concessions or the proposed « 50-50 » split of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with Ukraine ceding territory being a non-negotiable demand of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European leaders expressed their satisfaction with the US offer, which would outline protections for Ukraine in the event of any future invasion by Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, « What the US has put on the table here in Berlin in terms of legal and material guarantees is really remarkable. » Zelensky stated, « We have now heard from the US side that they are ready to give us security guarantees that correspond to Article 5, » referring to Nato’s principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
US sources described the offer as the « biggest win so far for Ukraine and for Europe » in peace talks that have at times strained transatlantic relations. The agreement would include « really, really strong guarantees – Article 5-like – also very strong deterrence, size of military, weaponry, » according to a US official.
Trump confident he can convince Putin to accept Washington’s proposals
President Trump expressed confidence in his ability to convince Putin to accept Washington’s proposals as he seeks to end almost four years of brutal fighting between Kyiv and Moscow.
However, the new head of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, accused Putin of « dragging out negotiations » and trying to « subjugate Ukraine and harass Nato members. »
Before the talks in Berlin, Zelensky had offered to drop Ukraine’s ambitions to join Nato if the country were offered robust and legally binding security measures to prevent a future invasion.
Despite progress on security guarantees, European sources said the US team had refused to drop a demand for Ukraine to withdraw its military from the eastern Donbas regions as the price for peace, a move Zelensky has repeatedly rejected.
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