After a meeting in Berlin with European officials and a delegation from Kyiv, US representatives have announced that they are ready to offer Ukraine security guarantees equivalent to NATO, which would allow preserving peace, writes the BBC.
Security guarantees could be based on NATO’s Article 5 principle of mutual defense, and US officials noted that they hope Russia will agree to it. Although the Americans have mentioned that progress has been made towards ending the war, there is no talk about how the complex issue of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be resolved. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also described the meeting as productive, but not simple. He added that Kiev needs a clear understanding of security guarantees before it makes decisions on other issues.
Ukraine has long insisted that rock-solid security guarantees are needed to ensure that Russia respects the ceasefire and does not invade again. US officials have described the guarantees offered as meeting the highest standards and warned that the offer will not last forever.
Zelensky first hinted on the 14th of December that Ukraine might abandon its plan to join NATO.
While there has been progress on the security front,
the Donbas region is a major stumbling point to the peace plan.
The US is now proposing a free economic zone in part of Donbas, but that would mean Ukraine would have to abandon areas it still controls; at the same time, Russia will not be expected to do the same. Zelensky added that it appears that Ukraine and the US have very different positions.
Moscow also has a radically different position on the Donbass issue. Russia has occupied most of the region and wants Kyiv to give it up, which the Ukrainians have completely ruled out.
The US has indicated that it plans to submit a security guarantee package for Senate approval.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who hosted the negotiators in Berlin, said on the 15th of December that this was the first time a ceasefire looked possible. The Berlin talks are centered on a 20-point peace plan presented to Ukraine last week, which is being offered as an alternative to the initial US peace plan. The details of the new plan are not known.
The peace plan proposal must also be approved by Moscow. The Kremlin has said it expects the US to present the concept discussed on the 15th of December.
Read also: Ukraine offers to abandon NATO membership in exchange for peace
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