US proposes 15-year security guarantee for Ukraine as peace talks continue

NN ONLINE:

The United States has proposed security guarantees for Ukraine lasting 15 years as part of a draft peace plan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, while stressing that a longer commitment would be needed to deter Russia from future aggression.

Zelenskyy said he would prefer US-backed guarantees for up to 50 years to prevent Moscow from attempting to seize Ukrainian territory again. US President Donald Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and said Ukraine and Russia were “closer than ever before” to reaching a peace agreement, though he cautioned that the negotiations could still fail.

Despite months of US-led talks, major sticking points remain unresolved, including the withdrawal of forces and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the largest in the world.

“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelenskyy told reporters in voice messages sent in response to questions via WhatsApp. Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and Russia-backed separatists launched an armed uprising in the eastern Donbas region.

While details of the proposed guarantees have not been made public, Zelenskyy said they include mechanisms to monitor a peace deal and the “presence” of international partners. Russia, however, has repeatedly said it would not accept the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin and Trump were expected to speak soon, though there was no indication that Putin would hold talks with Zelenskyy.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s allies would meet in Paris in early January to finalise each country’s concrete contributions to the security guarantees. Zelenskyy said Trump had indicated a willingness to consider extending US guarantees beyond 15 years. Any such guarantees would require approval from the US Congress and parliaments in other participating countries overseeing a settlement, he added.

The Ukrainian president also said he wants the proposed 20-point peace plan to be approved through a national referendum. However, holding such a vote would require a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days, and Russia has shown no readiness to agree to a truce without a comprehensive settlement.