A PEACE deal to end the bloody war in Ukraine appears to be closer than ever following America’s offer to provide Kyiv with iron-clad security guarantees.
The talks at the Berlin peace summit today involving European leaders and top US diplomats seem to have resulted in significant progress – but a major point of contention still persists.
Diplomats from Ukraine, Europe, the US, and Russia have been embroiled in complex negotiations for months, exchanging proposals and counter-proposals in an effort to reach a consensus.
Though they snagged on two key issues: Ukraine’s eastern territory and security guarantees for Kyiv against future Russian aggression.
But the peace talks gained some real momentum today after Donald Trump’s envoys made the unprecedented offer to provide Nato’s Article-5 like security guarantees to Kyiv.
The clause dictates that an armed attack on one ally is an attack on all.
The talks in the German capital have sparked some optimism from European leaders on a path to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
An upbeat German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the talks had created the “chance for a real peace process” and praised the US for offering “substantial” security guarantees.
However, Moscow is yet to agree to any of the changes discussed in Germany and has not indicated any willingness to do so.
And a consensus on territorial concessions still remains.
A US official corroborated the positive progress, saying that 90% of issues between Russia and Ukraine were solved in the latest round of talks.
They added that Trump was pleased with the developments and believes that he can get Russia to accept Ukraine security guearentees.
The US president said today: “I think we’re closer now than we have been ever.
“We had a very good conversation an hour ago with the European leaders involving the war with Russia and Ukraine.
“We had numerous conversations with President Putin of Russia, and I think we’re closer now than we have been ever and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump added.
European leaders including British PM Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a European-led “multinational force” with US support to enforce a potential peace deal.
They said the force’s work would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’s forces, securing its skies and supporting safer seas.
Six key points in security guarantees for Kyiv
- Permanent military support – Ukraine will maintain a powerful army — up to 800,000 troops even in peacetime
- Multinational forces led by Europe – Within the “Coalition of the Willing,” with US support, forces will be created to restore Ukraine’s Armed Forces, protect the skies, and ensure maritime security. Operations inside Ukraine are possible
- Ceasefire monitoring – The monitoring mechanism will be led by the United States with international partners involved.
- Legally binding security guarantees – Any new attack on Ukraine will automatically trigger a response — military, intelligence, economic, and diplomatic.
- Reconstruction and funding – Frozen Russian assets in the EU will remain blocked.
- Path to the EU – Europe officially confirms its support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union as a cornerstone of long-term security.
They said Ukrainian forces should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000 – a significant increase from what was proposed in the first draft of the peace deal.
Ukraine has signalled it is willing to drop its Nato ambitions if iron-clad post-war security garentess are offereed.
Though Kyiv’s preference remains Nato membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian aggression.
But Washington warned the offer of security guarantees wont be on the table forever.
“The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees — Article Five-like — also a very, very strong deterrence” in the size of Ukraine’s military, a US official said on condition of anonymity.
“Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there’s a conclusion that’s reached in a good way,” he said.
The latest peace draft is believed to include a fast-tracked process for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, potentially as early as January 2027.
Russia has expressed strong opposition to this idea, and there are significant hurdles within Europe as well.
But the Americans now say they could get Moscow to agree to it.
Other conditions included an agreement to invest in Ukraine’s economic future, “taking into account” the need for Russia to provide compensation, and strong support for Kyiv’s accession to the EU.
Zelensky hailed new security guarantees offered by Washington but also said differences remained on the question of what territories Ukraine would have to cede to Russia.
Sticking point
Even with strong security guarantees, the control over eastern Ukrainian territory remains the biggest challenge for negotiators.
“There has been sufficient dialogue on the territory, and I think that, frankly speaking, we still have different positions,” Zelensky told reporters.
Russia has long demanded Ukraine hand over the whole of the Donbas region in exchange for peace.
But Zelensky maintains has no “constitutional” or “moral” right to cede Ukrainian land.
Last week, he said the Ukrainians should have the final word – and the decision could now fall on the people through a referendum.
Kyiv says the status of the eastern Donetsk region and future control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were the two key points of contention in the peace talks.
Putin has vowed to seize the Donbas region by force if no peace deal was found.
Calling the issue of territorial concessions “painful”, Zelensky told reporters: “Frankly speaking, we still have different positions.”
“Kyiv’s negotiators will continue consultations with U.S. counterparts,” he said, adding that Ukraine needed a concrete understanding on security guarantees, including the monitoring of a ceasefire, before making any decisions related to the war’s front lines.
“I do not think that the [US] has demanded anything,” Zelensky said.
“I see us as strategic partners, so I would say that we have heard about the issue of territories in relation to Russia’s vision or Russia’s demands from the [US] We see this as demands from the Russian Federation.”
Give it up, Zel
Zelensky said that the US is still pushing for Kyiv to make big territorial concessions to Russia to halt the war.
He told reporters last week that Washington wants only Ukraine to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region, where it would install a demilitarised buffer between the two armies.
The US had also proposed the creation of a “free economic zone” – that would require both Ukraine and Russia to avoid contested areas around the frontline in the east.
Zelensky’s remarks appear to show not much has changed – apart from the proposed security guarantees – in Washington’s core position on how the conflict should end since it sent a 28-point plan to Kyiv and Moscow last month that heavily favoured Russia.
