Putin backs ‘security guarantees’ for Ukraine – Trump

The US president is meeting with Kiev’s European backers after a one-on-one summit with the Russian leader

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to accept security guarantees for Ukraine, US President Donald Trump claimed during a meeting with European leaders on Monday.

Trump is hosting Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s key European backers at the White House. The gathering comes three days after a Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, which both leaders hailed as a positive step toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.

“President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine,” Trump said, without elaborating. “This is one of the key points that we need to consider. We are going to be considering that at the table also, like who would do what.”

“Essentially, I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine,” he added.  

Ukraine has been insisting on guarantees similar to NATO’s collective defense as one of the preconditions for a lasting peace. Both Russia and the US have ruled out Ukraine’s membership in the US-led alliance.

READ MORE: Zelensky backs meeting with Putin and Trump

However, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said shortly after last week’s Trump-Putin meeting that the US could offer “Article 5-like protection” to Ukraine, referring to NATO’s principle that an attack on one member be treated as an attack on all.

The Kremlin has not commented on the latest remarks, but has previously said that Russia would not tolerate Western troops on Ukrainian soil. Putin has maintained that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO are one of the root causes of the conflict.