Photo: Alamy
The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years under a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, adding that he would prefer an American commitment lasting as long as 50 years to deter Russia from trying again to seize Ukrainian territory by force.
President Donald Trump hosted Zelensky at his Florida resort on Sunday and said Ukraine and Russia are “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement. Trump also cautioned that the U.S.-led talks, now months in, could still fall apart.
“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelensky told reporters in a voice message.
Negotiators are still seeking progress on major sticking points, including which forces would withdraw and from where, and what would happen to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine has been in conflict with Russia since 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatists launched an armed uprising in the Donbas, an industrial region in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky did not provide details of the U.S. guarantees, which have not been made public, but said they include mechanisms for monitoring any deal and the “presence” of partners. He did not elaborate. Russia has said it will not accept the deployment of troops from NATO countries inside Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump are expected to speak in the near future, but there was no indication Putin would speak with Zelenskyy.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to “finalize each country’s concrete contributions” to the security guarantees.
Zelensky said President Trump told him he would consider extending U.S. security guarantees beyond 15 years. Zelensky said the guarantees would require approval from the U.S. Congress and the parliaments of other countries involved in overseeing any settlement.
Zelensky also said he wants the 20-point peace plan under discussion to be approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum. He said holding such a vote would require a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days, but he said Russia has shown no willingness to accept a truce without a broader settlement in place.
