New guarantees will be approved by Congress and will have mandatory legal force, meaning they are not "assurances" ("assurances"-eng.) like in the Budapest Memorandum.
Special envoys of Donald Trump Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet on Monday in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom to reach an agreement on the American peace settlement plan in Ukraine. As Axios reports, citing information from White House representatives, the U.S. is ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in exchange for territorial concessions.
The main stumbling block in the negotiations is territorial concessions that the U.S. is asking Kyiv to make.
"A White House representative noted that Zelensky in his public statements on Thursday suggested that Ukraine could hold a referendum on a peace agreement that involves territorial concessions. According to the official, the U.S. views this as progress," Axios writes.
At the same time, a White House representative stated that these discussions and the last round of U.S.-Ukrainian negotiations on Thursday showed sufficient progress to convince Trump to send Witkoff and Kushner to Europe.
"They believe there is a chance for peace, and the president trusts them," said a second White House representative.
Negotiations on security guarantees have made significant progress
Yes, one official told that the Trump administration is ready to provide Ukraine with guarantees based on NATO Article 5, which will be approved by Congress and will have binding legal force.
"We want to provide Ukrainians with security guarantees that, on one hand, will not be a blank check, and on the other, will be strong enough. We are ready to direct it to Congress for a vote," said an American official.
He stated that three separate agreements would be made: on peace, security guarantees, and reconstruction, and that the last negotiations gave Ukrainians for the first time a "complete vision of the future."
At the same time, according to the official, negotiations on the post-war package of economic and reconstruction measures are going well:
"When people see what they will get, rather than just what they will give, they are more inclined to move forward... According to the current proposal, the war will end with Ukraine retaining sovereignty over 80% of its territory, receiving the largest and strongest security guarantees it has ever received, and a very significant package of measures to ensure prosperity."
The issue of Ukrainian territories
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the issue of Ukrainian territories, in particular, the creation of a so-called "free economic" zone in part of Donetsk, should be determined by the people of Ukraine through elections or a referendum.
At the same time, the Kremlin rejected the idea of a truce for the purpose of holding a referendum in Ukraine.
