US offers Ukraine security guarantees similar to NATO Article 5 in exchange for withdrawal from Donbas

Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet on Monday in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Germany, France and the UK to reach an agreement on the US plan for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. As Axios writes, citing information from White House representatives, the US is ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in exchange for the concession of territories, Focus reports.

The main obstacle in the negotiations - territorial concessions

"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 provides for a concession of territory. The source said the US sees this as progress, Axios reported.

A White House official said that these discussions and the latest round of US-Ukrainian talks on Thursday had shown enough progress to convince Trump to send Witkoff and Kushner to Europe.

“They believe there is a chance for peace, and the president believes them,” a second White House official said.

Negotiations for security guarantees

A White House official said that the Trump administration is ready to provide Ukraine with guarantees based on NATO Article 5, which would be approved by Congress and would have binding legal force.

“We want to provide the Ukrainians with security guarantees that, on the one hand, would not be a blank check, but on the other hand, would be strong enough. We are ready to send it to Congress for a vote,” the US official said.

He also said that three separate agreements would be concluded: for peace, security guarantees and reconstruction, and that the recent negotiations had for the first time given Ukrainians a "full vision of the future".

At the same time, according to the official, negotiations on the post-war package of measures for economic development and reconstruction are going well:

"When people see that they will get something, and not just what they will give, they are more inclined to move forward... According to the current proposal, the war would end with Ukraine retaining its 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 question of Ukrainian territories

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the issue of Ukrainian territories, in particular the creation of the so-called “free economic zone“ in part of the Donetsk region, should be resolved by the people of Ukraine through elections or a referendum.

At the same time, the Kremlin rejected the idea of a ceasefire while a referendum is being held in Ukraine.