Vladimir Putin has agreed to allow Ukraine’s allies to offer it a NATO-like security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Mr Witkoff said the Russian president agreed to the move when he met with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Mr Witkoff, who was by the US president’s side at the summit, said: “We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO.”
Article 5 is a core principle of the 32-member collective, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all. It has only been invoked once, by the US, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join NATO and has dismissed the idea that NATO member forces could be peacekeepers under some sort of ceasefire deal.
Mr Witkoff, who has previously met with Mr Putin to discuss an end to the Ukraine war, said Friday’s summit was the first time he had heard the Russian president agree to the suggestion of NATO-like protection – and called it “game-changing”.
His comments came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.
The Ukrainian president said in a post on X: “This is a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine.
“Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation.”
Ms von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference with the Ukrainian president, said the European Union “is ready to do its share”.
EU leaders to join Zelenskyy at White House
Sunday afternoon also saw Ms von der Leyen and Mr Zelenskyy dial in to a meeting with the coalition of the willing, a peacekeeping alliance of European leaders – some of whom will accompany Mr Zelenskyy to meet with Mr Trump tomorrow.
Ms von der Leyen will be at the crunch talks in Washington DC, as will Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be in attendance, after the US president reportedly extended an invitation to European leaders.
Read more: Why is Zelenskyy bringing a posse of leaders?
Mr Putin has reportedly made demands to take control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine during his summit with Mr Trump as a condition for ending the war.
In exchange, Russia would give up other Ukrainian territories held by its troops, according to several news reports citing sources close to the matter.
Russian troops currently occupy large parts of the two regions and, in September 2022, Moscow announced it was officially annexing them, alongside the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, in a move rejected and condemned as illegal by the West.
Mr Trump is said to be planning to urge Mr Zelenskyy to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war.
That’s despite the Ukrainian president previously ruling out formally handing any territory to Moscow, which he says would be impossible under the country’s constitution, and would deprive Ukraine of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.
In coordinated statements following the Alaska summit, European leaders said Mr Zelenskyy must play a greater role in future talks, and that peace cannot be achieved without him.
The US president said the Washington talk with Mr Zelenskyy could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.
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On Saturday, Downing Street insisted Sir Keir and other allies stand ready to support the next phase of talks to end the war.
“At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the Prime Minister, with other European partners, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes,” a statement from No 10 said.
