Ukraine Wants 20-Year U.S. Security Guarantee to Sign Peace Deal

DW

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine requires security guarantees from the United States lasting at least 20 years before it can sign a peace agreement with dignity, ahead of talks with Russia and the US scheduled for next week.

Speaking on Saturday in Munich, President Zelenskyy emphasised that long-term security assurances are essential to ensure lasting stability and prevent further aggression.

He also called for a clear timetable for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, noting that some EU officials have suggested membership could be possible as early as 2027.

The Ukrainian President said he hoped “the trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, helpful for all of us but, honestly, sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things”.

“The Americans often return to the topic of concessions and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia,” he added.

At a press conference in Munich, President Zelenskyy said the U.S. had told him that if Ukraine withdrew from the Donbas, peace would come as quickly as possible, but he insisted this concession was not possible since Ukrainians live there.

He disclosed that the U.S. had so far offered a 15-year security guarantee, but Ukraine wanted a minimum 20-year, legally water-tight agreement, setting out the specific help the U.S. would provide to a planned European reassurance force due to be put inside Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

Details of a so-called prosperity plan whereby the U.S. would have access to Ukrainian mineral resources had not yet been exchanged, President Zelenskyy said.

He also queried why the head of the Russian negotiation delegation had been changed, saying he feared it meant the Russians were playing for time, rather than shifting strategy.

President Zelenskyy also complained about Europe having been practically absent from the table. “That’s a big mistake, in my opinion,” he said, a view that was shared by the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump called on President Zelenskyy to “get moving” to reach an agreement with Russia.

Source: The Guardian



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