NEW YORK (AP) – Special US envoy Steve Witkov said on Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will allow Ukraine at a summit with President Donald Trump to allow US and European allies to provide security guarantees similar to NATO’s collective defense orders as part of a final deal to end the three-year war.
“We were able to win the next concession: the US can provide protection like Article 5. This is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he said on CNN’s “All Powers.” He added, “It was the first time I’d heard a Russian agree.”
Speaking with Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky at a press conference in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “We welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to security assurances like Article 5 of Ukraine.
Witkoff provided some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday’s summit in Alaska, saying both sides agreed to “robust security guarantees that I describe as changing the game.” He added that he would create a legislative commitment to not chasing Ukraine’s additional territory.
Zelenskyy thanked the US for the recent signal that Washington is willing to help Ukraine with security assurances, but details remain unclear.
“It is important that the US agree to work with Europe to provide security assurances to Ukraine,” he said.
Witkov defended Trump’s decision to abandon his push to urge Russians to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
“We covered almost every other issue that was needed for a peace agreement,” Witkov did not elaborate.
“We’ve started to see some degree of moderation in the way they’re thinking about reaching a final peace deal,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that if the ceasefire fails, there will be “additional consequences,” as Trump warned before meeting Putin. However, Rubio pointed out that there would be no deals in the armistice reached when Ukraine was not in the meeting.
“Now, if there is no peace agreement, if this war hasn’t ended, the president is clear and there will be consequences,” Rubio said on ABC’s “this week.” “But we are trying to avoid that, and the way we are trying to avoid those consequences is even better: peace, the end of hostilities.”
Rubio, Trump’s national security adviser, said he doesn’t believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire.
“The moment we issue new sanctions, the ability to bring them to the table, the ability to lead them to the table, will be significantly reduced,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He also said, “We’re not a cliff in the peace agreement,” and that getting there isn’t easy and requires a lot of work.
“We have made progress in the sense that we have identified potential areas of agreement, but there are still some areas of great disagreement, and so we still have a long way to go,” Rubio said.
Zelensky and the European leader are scheduled to meet with Trump on Monday at the White House. They heard from the president after meeting with Putin.
“I think everyone agreed that we have made progress. It may not be enough for a peace agreement, but we are on our path for the first time,” Witkov said.
He added: “The basic issue is some kind of land exchange, and obviously ultimately, it is Ukrainian rule. This could not be discussed at this meeting.” “We’re going to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity about it. Hopefully it will end up in a peace deal very soon.”
