The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years under a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, reported by the Associated Press.
Zelenskyy said he would prefer a much longer U.S. commitment — up to 50 years — to deter Russia from future attempts to seize Ukrainian territory by force, according to the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump hosted Zelenskyy on Sunday at Trump’s Florida resort and said Ukraine and Russia are “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement, as quoted by the Associated Press. Trump also cautioned the U.S.-led talks could still collapse, the Associated Press reported.
Negotiators are still seeking a breakthrough on key issues, including potential troop withdrawals and the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s largest, according to the Associated Press.
“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelenskyy said in voice messages to reporters, as quoted by the Associated Press. Zelenskyy said the guarantees cover how any deal would be monitored and the “presence” of partners, but he did not elaborate, the Associated Press reported. Russia has said it will not accept the deployment of NATO-country troops in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump were expected to speak soon but gave no indication Putin would talk with Zelenskyy, the Associated Press reported. French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to finalize national contributions to the guarantees, according to the Associated Press.
Zelenskyy said he wants the 20-point peace plan approved in a national referendum, but said a vote would require at least a 60-day ceasefire — something Moscow has not signaled it will accept without a full settlement, according to the Associated Press.
