US offers Ukraine 'strong' security guarantees but territory still unresolved

WASHINGTON,  United States 

The United States has said it is ready to offer Ukraine Nato-like security guarantees to safeguard an eventual ceasefire, following talks in Berlin with European officials and a delegation from Kyiv.

The "very strong" guarantees would be modelled on Nato's Article 5 clause of mutual protection, US officials said, adding that the Russians would hopefully agree to them.

While US officials talked up progress towards ending the war, there was little detail on how the thorny issue of Ukraine's sovereignty would be resolved in any peace deal.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky described the meeting as "productive" but not easy.

He added that Kyiv needed a "clear understanding of security guarantees" before it could make any decisions about other contentious issues.

Ukraine has long argued it needs watertight guarantees to ensure that Russia respects any ceasefire and does not attack the country again.

US officials described the security guarantees on offer as the "platinum standard", but cautioned the deal "would not be on the table forever".

On Sunday, Zelensky signalled for the first time that as a "compromise" he would give up ambitions to join Nato in exchange for strong guarantees.

While there appears to be significant movement on the issue of security, the eastern region of the Donbas remains a major sticking point.

The US is now suggesting an "economic-free zone" could be established in the contested part of the Donbas, but that would require Ukraine accepting to withdraw from the areas it still holds, while Russia would not be expected to do the same.

"It seems to me that [the US and Ukraine] so far have different positions, to be honest," Zelensky said.

US officials said that if the economic free zone could be defined, "then it will really be up to the parties to work out the final issues of sovereignty."

But Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on the issue of the Donbas. Russia mostly occupies the region and it wants Kyiv to hand it over in its entirety, which Ukraine is staunchly refusing to do.

The US officials said Washington was now willing to submit a security package for Senate ratification.

Speaking from the White House, US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Zelensky and European leaders, describing it as a "very good talk".