Trump's envoy Witkoff: Putin agreed to robust US and European security guarantees for Ukraine

The US president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin agreed during his conversation with Donald Trump to the provision of "robust security guarantees" for Ukraine from the United States as part of a potential peace deal.

Source: Witkoff on CNN

Quote: "We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing."

Details: Witkoff described the security guarantees as NATO Article 5-type protection against further Russian invasion.

He said Putin also agreed to a "legislative enshrinement" by Russia not to enter any other territory, in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe, as part of a potential peace deal.

In addition, Witkoff said that during the meeting with Trump in Alaska, Putin made concessions on his demand for a "land swap" with Ukraine. He declined to provide specific details but suggested that the Kremlin now sees the "land swap" occurring at the current front lines rather than along the administrative boundaries of at least some of the five regions that have long been in Putin’s sights, CNN reported.

"The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions," Witkoff said, adding that this issue will be discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the White House on Monday.

"Hopefully we can cut through and make some decisions right then and there," he said.

Witkoff noted that although Russia’s position has changed compared with previous negotiations, it is still not sufficient for a comprehensive peace treaty.

"It was significant. And, that doesn’t mean it’s enough," he said. "The point was that we began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal."

Background:

• On Sunday Zelenskyy stated that he is only willing to discuss territorial issues with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at a trilateral Ukraine-US-Russia meeting.
• Trump announced after the Alaska summit that he had reached an agreement with Putin for a "land swap" between Ukraine and Russia and that "Zelenskyy has to agree".
• Trump is reported to have told Ukraine and European leaders that Putin wants to immediately discuss the conditions for ending the war rather than a pause in the hostilities, and Trump believes that would be better.
• According to Bloomberg, Trump informed European leaders and Zelenskyy that Putin is still demanding that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, but is prepared to freeze the front in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. Zelenskyy has rejected this demand.
• On Sunday, Reuters published the demands for ending the war that Putin put forward during his meeting with Trump in Alaska.

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