A source close to the talks said on the 2th of January that the US insists that Ukraine must first sign a peace treaty before it can receive US security guarantees, Reuters reports.
Ukrainians see US security guarantees as a lever for any possible scenario of ending Russian aggression. After talks in Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, it was reported that some progress had been made.
The Financial Times reported that the administration of President Donald Trump has made it clear to Ukrainians that American security guarantees are contingent on Kyiv agreeing to sign a peace treaty, which is likely to also require giving up Donbas to the Russians.
However, a source close to the matter told Reuters that the US does not determine the content of the peace treaty, and to say that Washington is trying to force Kyiv to give up territory is misleading.
Ukrainian and Russian representatives will meet again in Abu Dhabi on the 1st of February
to continue talks. It is possible that Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will also participate in the talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 25th of January that the US security guarantee document was completely ready, and Kyiv was waiting to sign it. Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that the country’s territorial integrity must be preserved. However, there are concerns in Ukraine about whether Washington will commit to fulfilling the security guarantees, and a Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that the US has stopped every time it could sign the document.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on the 26th of January that the territorial issue is at the core of any peace agreement.
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