US offering Ukraine security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 - WSJ
Photo: meeting of Ukrainian, US, and German representatives in Berlin (Telegram Zelenskiy / Official)
The US is offering Ukraine legally binding security guarantees, similar to NATO’s Article 5, without formal membership in the Alliance, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The US has promised Ukraine protection against any aggression, in an effort to break the deadlock in peace negotiations, the media outlet reports, citing official US representatives at the talks in Berlin.
The WSJ notes that these will be security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5. They will entail commitments from allies to respond to any new aggression against Ukraine, but without formal NATO membership.
The plan is for them to have legal force and potentially be approved by the US Congress.
Ukraine and NATO membership
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that bilateral security guarantees from the US under NATO’s Article 5, as well as guarantees from European partners and other countries, already represent a compromise on Ukraine’s part.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine’s original goal was NATO membership, which would have provided real security guarantees. However, this option was not supported by some partners in the US and Europe.
Earlier reports indicated that former US President Donald Trump’s administration was ready to provide Ukraine with legally binding security guarantees based on NATO’s Article 5.
According to a US official, the corresponding agreement would be submitted for a vote in the US Congress. The official emphasized that Washington aims to offer Kyiv not a "blank check," but strong and real security guarantees.
At the same time, Donald Trump said in an interview that the understanding that Ukraine would not join NATO formed long before Russian President Vladimir Putin began talking about it.
