The US is offering Ukraine security guarantees lasting 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Mr Zelensky said he would prefer a commitment of up to 50 years to discourage Russia from making further attempts to seize Ukrainian territory by force, reports Breaking News.
US President Donald Trump hosted Mr Zelensky at his Florida resort on Sunday and said Ukraine and Russia were “closer than ever before” to reaching a peace agreement.
However, negotiators are still seeking progress on major unresolved issues, including which forces would withdraw from which areas and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s 10 largest, reports Breaking News.
Mr Trump also acknowledged that the US-led negotiations, which have been ongoing for months, could still break down.
“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Mr Zelensky told reporters, reports Breaking News.
Ukraine has been fighting Russia since 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and Kremlin-backed separatists launched an armed uprising in the Donbas, a key industrial region in eastern Ukraine.
While the details of the proposed security guarantees have not been made public, Mr Zelensky said on Monday they include how any peace deal would be monitored and the “presence” of partner countries, reports Breaking News.
He did not elaborate further, but Russia has said it will not accept the deployment of troops from Nato countries on Ukrainian territory.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Trump were expected to speak in the near future, but there was no indication that Mr Putin would hold talks with Mr Zelensky, reports Breaking News.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to “finalise each country’s concrete contributions” to the proposed security guarantees.
Mr Trump said he would consider extending US security guarantees for Ukraine beyond 15 years, according to Mr Zelensky, reports Breaking News.
Mr Zelensky added that the guarantees would need approval from the US Congress as well as parliaments in other countries involved in overseeing any settlement.
He also said he wants the 20-point peace plan currently under discussion to be approved by Ukrainian citizens in a national referendum, reports Breaking News.
However, holding such a vote would require a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days, and Moscow has shown no willingness to agree to a truce without a comprehensive settlement.
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