Ukraine Seeks Long-Term US Security Guarantees as Peace Talks With Russia Advance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that a draft peace framework under discussion with Washington would provide 15 years of US-backed security guarantees, while Kyiv is pressing for protections that could last several decades longer as talks to end the war with Russia intensify.
Zelenskyy spoke a day after meeting Donald Trump in Florida, describing the talks as a turning point in negotiations. Both leaders, he said, expressed confidence that an agreement could be within reach, even as unresolved disputes remain.
“Yesterday we confirmed this with [Trump], that we will have strong security guarantees from the United States. Indeed, now it is not forever. In the documents, it is for 15 years with the possibility of extending these security guarantees,” Zelenskyy told reporters in a message shared via WhatsApp.
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He said he urged PresidentTrump to consider a much longer timeframe. “I raised this issue with the President. I told him that we are already at war, and it has been for almost 15 years. Therefore, I really wanted the guarantees to be longer. I told him that we would really like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,” Zelenskyy added.
The precise form of the guarantees has not been finalized. US officials have indicated they could resemble NATO’s Article 5 commitments. Zelenskyy said such assurances would be credible if the US role were reinforced by European allies, including the deployment of international forces.
Zelenskyy also said the current 20-point proposal would require approval by a national referendum, which he said could only be held during a 60-day ceasefire. Russia, he said, has shown no willingness to pause hostilities, pointing to heavy missile and drone strikes on Kyiv over the weekend.
Territorial questions remain a central obstacle. Zelenskyy has proposed turning Donbas into a demilitarized free economic zone, while Vladimir Putin has insisted on full Russian control.
Peskov said Moscow shares President Trump’s view that negotiations are nearing their final phase and confirmed that Putin and President Trump would speak again “very soon.”
