US security guarantees for Ukraine nearly finalized, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
A bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine from the United States is effectively ready, with the next step being its finalization at the highest level, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“(Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council — ed.) Rustem Umerov reported on the results of our team’s negotiations in France yesterday. A bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine is essentially ready for finalization at the highest level with the President of the United States,” Zelenskyy said.
According to him, it is important that Ukraine continues to unite the efforts of European and US teams. The negotiating groups also jointly discussed, among other things, documents related to recovery and economic development.
The parties also addressed difficult issues within the basic framework for ending the war, and the Ukrainian side presented possible options for finalizing this document. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine understands the US side will engage in talks with Russia and expects feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely ready to end the war.
The president added that after returning to Kyiv, Ukraine’s negotiating team will report on all details of the meetings.
“We are also informing partners about the consequences of Russian strikes. In this context, it is essential that pressure on Russia increases as intensively as the negotiating teams are working. The credibility of future security guarantees must be proven by the partners’ ability to exert effective pressure on the aggressor already at this stage,” Zelenskyy stressed.
Background
On January 7, it became known that Ukrainian and US representatives, during another round of talks in Paris, agreed on further contacts at the leaders’ level and discussed key elements of the plan to end the war.
On the same day, Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev was spotted in Paris and, according to media reports, was received at the US Embassy.
A day earlier, on January 6, Ukraine, the United States, and countries from the Coalition of the Willing held a meeting in Paris. The sides reaffirmed their unity in achieving a lasting peace and agreed to continue supporting Kyiv. Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov later said that concrete agreements had been reached.
It is also known that Ukraine is discussing security guarantees with its partners on land, in the air, and at sea. A response regarding the timeframe of US security guarantees is expected during a meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump.
