Speaking to CNN, Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy, spoke about a security guarantee, not a ceasefire, but a"possible peace treaty", based on Friday's talks in Alaska between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Witkoff told CNN that Trump and Putin agreed to “solid security guarantees,” such as ensuring that Ukraine would enjoy protection similar to that of NATO members even without membership. He said:

The United States and other nations could effectively offer Ukraine protections similar to Article 5.

He was referring to a provision in NATO's charter that states that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all member states and entails a joint counterattack.

Speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union, Witkoff also made it clear that President Putin finds it completely unthinkable to include Ukraine in NATO, so the United States can only offer protection similar to Article 5. According to Witkoff, the Russian president would agree to this.

Trump's special envoy also claimed that Vladimir Putin had agreed to Russia"putting into law" that it would not enter other territories, either in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe, as part of a potential peace treaty.

He claims that Putin said during his meeting with Trump that in exchange he would be willing to freeze the current front lines in the rest of Ukraine – the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions – and agree not to attack Ukraine or other European nations again.

But, Witkoff continued, the Russian president has not given up on his demand that Russia eliminate the “roots” of the war in Ukraine, which means that Kiev must reduce the size of its military, abandon its NATO membership aspirations, and become a neutral state.

Events accelerated after Trump and Putin’s meeting in Alaska. Trump invited Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington on Monday, who also left. In Brussels, he met with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and then held a brief press conference.

It is crucial that Europe is now as united as it was at the very beginning, in 2022, when the total war began. This unity will really help us achieve real peace, and we must remain strong. We must stop the killings. Putin has many demands, but we do not know them all

– said the Ukrainian president. Ursula von der Leyen said that in the future the EU and Ukraine will launch joint defense programs, the first of which was the production of drones. The President of the European Commission added:

Since the beginning of Russia's brutal invasion, Europe has stood united with Ukraine, and we will support it for as long as necessary for a just and lasting peace. And this peace must be achieved by force.

(In our opening image, Steve Witkoff at the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska. Photo: AFP / Andrew Harnik)