Axios: Trump says he's ready to give Ukraine NATO-like security guarantees. But there is a caveat

Axios media outlet, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official, declares that the American administration is allegedly ready to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee based on NATO Article 5. However, the outlet notes that the peace plan also calls for the withdrawal of troops of Ukraine from its own Donbas region and the creation of a "demilitarized zone" there.

Axios claims that negotiations on security guarantees Ukraine is to receive from the US and Europe have made significant progress.

An anonymous top US official said that the US administration Donald Trump is allegedly ready to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee under the NATO North Atlantic Treaty's article on collective security (an attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all members – Ed.) The source claimed that this guarantee would be approved by Congress and would be legally binding.

"We want to give the Ukrainians a security guarantee that will not be a blank check on the one hand (an unlimited commitment on the part of the United States – Ed.), but will be strong enough on the other hand. We are willing to send it to Congress to vote on it," the official said.

Also, the media, citing two anonymous White House officials, wrote that a meeting of the US president's special envoy is expected in Berlin on December 15 Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner with the head of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which will also be attended by the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Earlier about Witkoff's visit to Berlin said an interviewer for The Wall Street Journal.

The talks will be held to try to reach an agreement on the US peace plan, Axios reports.

"The White House is pushing Ukraine hard to approve its plan but the territorial concessions Kyiv is being asked to make remain a major sticking point. The U.S. side thinks all other issues are close to resolution, and that Zelenskyy may have offered a path forward on territory," the media outlet reports.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president said that as part of the peace plan, America wants the Ukrainian Armed Forces to withdraw from the Ukrainian Donbas and the Russian army to stay out. Instead, Washington offers to create a "free economic zone" or "demilitarized zone". However, Zelenskyy indicated that negotiations on this issue are still ongoing.

In his opinion, the question of the fairness of the compromises demanded from Kyiv "will be answered by the people of Ukraine" in a referendum or election.

The American official told Axios that during a virtual meeting on December 12, European partners said that if the Ukrainian president proposes a referendum on the territory, they will support it.

During the same meeting, Witkoff and Kushner discussed the plan to create a demilitarized zone with national security advisers from Ukraine, Germany, France and Britain, the media reports.

According to a White House official, this communication and the last round of Ukraine-U.S. talks the day before demonstrated enough progress to convince Trump to send representatives to Europe.

"They [Witkoff and Kushner] believe there could be a chance at peace and the President trusts them," said another administration official.

Among other things, one of Axios' interlocutors stated: "According to the current proposal the war will end with Ukraine keeping the sovereignty over 80% of its territory, will get the biggest and strongest security guarantee it has ever got and will get a very significant prosperity package."

It is not yet known whether the aggressor country, Russia, will support the American proposals.

• The day before, the Office of the president objected information that Ukraine has allegedly agreed to the creation of a buffer zone in Donbas in accordance with the American peace plan.