Ukraine receives US draft on security guarantees, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
The United States has sent Ukraine a draft on security guarantees, which both sides will continue to work on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists on December 11.
The President emphasized that discussions on effective security guarantees lie ahead, and Ukraine is actively working on this issue.
"We received a draft from the American side regarding security guarantees. And just as we did with the 20-point plan and economic proposals, we will work on the US security guarantees in the same way, adding our ideas and reforming the provided draft," he said.
Zelenskyy explained that Ukraine will add its own vision to the draft received from the US, after which the document will be returned to the United States.
"This will be a basis, as we need more details on this. But this document represents decisions of both sides, and both sides understand that it must be legally binding and strong, because, unfortunately, there was the experience of the Budapest Memorandum," the President added.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the document on security guarantees will be in Congress. He stressed that Ukraine needs effective security guarantees, not something similar to the Budapest Memorandum.
Zelenskyy also noted that discussions have taken place with the US regarding the PURL program. He mentioned that Kyiv should expect packages worth $15–16 billion for the next year.
"We hope the war will end, but in any case, we need this program, and we need this weaponry to simply have it in stock, so that it supports security guarantees, because no one knows what will happen the day after tomorrow. That's why we are working on this program," he explained.
Zelenskyy emphasized that he asked the US to work in parallel on both the peace negotiations and the PURL program. In addition, he made a statement regarding US intelligence data.
"I think, in any case, we will have it. But this is for now. However, we do not know how all these negotiations will end. And we do not know what the actual outcome will be. We want peace. And we are trying to be as constructive as possible," the President stressed.
Trump’s peace plan
Currently, Ukraine, together with its European partners and the United States, is discussing three key documents as part of the peace initiative: a framework document, an agreement on security guarantees, and a document outlining the principles of post-war reconstruction.
Ukraine and the US have not yet reached an agreement on the territorial issue. Washington is trying to pressure Kyiv into making concessions on Donbas, but the Ukrainian side rejects such proposals.
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow expects security guarantees for all parties and will not accept Ukraine's NATO membership. Meanwhile, Ukrainian and European officials remain skeptical about Russia's readiness for genuine peace.
