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Witkoff: Putin agrees to security guarantees for Kiev and territorial concessions

Pravda

Slovakia

Sunday, August 17


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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on"strong security guarantees" for Ukraine during their summit in Alaska, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.

Return to Moscow. US fighter jets escort Putin's plane

"We have agreed on security guarantees that I would call groundbreaking," Witkoff told the American news channel CNN, which was quoted by the AFP agency in its report.

According to the AP, Witkoff said on CNN that the US and European allies would provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to NATO's collective defense mandate as part of a potential agreement to end the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than three years.

"We were able to get the following concession: that the United States can offer [Ukraine] Article 5-like protection, which is one of the main reasons why Ukraine wants to join NATO," Witkoff told CNN, adding that it was the first time he had ever heard Putin agree to such a proposal.

Witkoff, speaking to CNN for the first time, provided some details about the content of the Alaska talks. He added that when it comes to security guarantees for Ukraine, Russia has said it will commit legally not to seek any more territory in Ukraine.

He also defended Trump's decision not to pressure Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire, explaining that Trump had leaned toward a peace deal because"so much progress" had been made.

"We've discussed almost all the other issues that are necessary for a peace agreement," Witkoff said, without elaborating."We're starting to see some conciliatory thinking in the way they're thinking about reaching a final peace agreement," he explained.

Witkoff also said he was"looking forward" to a "productive meeting" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday. Trump's envoy expects the meeting to produce"real consensus" so that "we can go back to the Russians, move this peace plan forward and see it through."

In addition to Zelensky, the White House meeting will also be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, her British counterpart Keir Starmer and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, AFP added.

Von der Leyen, who welcomed Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, said she welcomed Trump's proposal to offer Ukraine security guarantees analogous to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. She added that the so-called coalition of the willing was ready to do its part.

Article 5 is a key founding principle of NATO. It states that an armed attack against one or more members is considered an attack against them all – the Allies thus pledge to assist the attacked state in such a case, including the use of armed force if necessary.

"Ukraine must preserve its territorial integrity," von der Leyen stressed during a reception for Zelensky in Brussels.

"We welcome President Trump's willingness to provide Ukraine with Article 5-like security guarantees," she said at a press conference in Brussels.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Saturday that the first step should be to define"a collective security clause that would allow Ukraine to enlist the support of all its partners - including the United States - ready to intervene if it is attacked again."

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