Zelenskyy confirms that NATO-like security guarantees are being discussed with the United States
Illustrative photo: Depositphotos

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine and the United States are discussing providing Kyiv with security guarantees similar to Article 5 of NATO's North Atlantic Treaty on Collective Security. The Head of State made this statement during a media briefing before the talks in Berlin.

The president was asked whether he really expected Moscow to accept Ukraine's conditions for future security guarantees for Kyiv and what the path to peace was if Russia did not.

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Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine's desire from the very beginning was to join NATO, which would be a real guarantee of security.

However, he noted that this direction was not supported by some partners from both the United States and Europe.

The head of state explained that today, bilateral security guarantees between Kyiv and Washington, such as Article 5 of NATO (an attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all – Ed.), guarantees from European partners and other countries (Canada, Japan, etc.) are "an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian aggression."

"And this is a compromise on our part," Zelenskyy said.

The president also emphasized that Ukraine now wants to prevent the war from happening again after the ceasefire, so legally binding guarantees are necessary, not "Budapest Memorandum".

"In the case of the United States, we are holding such consultations. When they say that we will have something mirroring NATO Article 5, we understand how the United States should react in the event of Russia's repeated aggression," the head of state said.

He also emphasized that it is important for Ukraine that such guarantees are supported by the US Congress.

  • Earlier, Axios quoted a top U.S. official as saying that the Trump administration is allegedly ready to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee based on NATO's collective security article. However, the same peace plan includes the creation of "demilitarized zone" in the Ukrainian Donbas with the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
  • Ukrainian-American talks are scheduled for December 14 in Berlin, Germany. Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv has not yet received a response from the US for the latest proposals made to the peace plan.