The leaders of Ukraine and several other European states will discuss potential future security guarantees for the war-torn country with US president Donald Trump on Monday.
The meeting follows a summit held in Alaska on Friday between Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, and claims by a White House envoy that Russia has dropped its opposition to the West providing Nato-style defence pledges to Kyiv.
Steve Witkoff said: “We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato.”
The Article 5 clause of Nato’s founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, the notion that an attack on a single member is considered an attack on them all.
RM Block
He told US television on Sunday that this is a “game changing decision” and “the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that”. He did not provide details of what was discussed.
There are concerns among Ukraine’s supporters that Volodymyr Zelenskiy could face significant pressure in Washington on Monday, given his February talks with Mr Trump in the Oval Office descended into a shouting match.
However, this time he is expected to be accompanied in Washington by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Finland, along with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr Trump’s relations with European leaders can be prickly, and it is notable that the group includes several who he reportedly likes: Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Britain’s Keir Starmer, Finland’s Alexander Stubb and Mr Rutte of Nato.
[ The Irish Times view on the Trump-Putin summit: a shameful day in AlaskaOpens in new window ]
European leaders who make up the “coalition of the willing” on Sunday agreed Russia would face more sanctions and wider economic measures if it does not stop its bombardment of Ukraine.
Speaking after the virtual conference, which was co-chaired by Mr Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron, Mr Zelenskiy said: “It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.”
“We need security to work in practice like Article 5 of Nato,” he said. Mr Zelenskiy said he also considers EU accession to be “part of the security guarantees”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who also participated in Sunday’s conference, said Ukraine needs “strong, credible, long-term security guarantees”, which means EU membership and sustained support from Europe and the US.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said there will “have to be some security guarantees for Ukraine” because “if this war were to end, they have to make sure this never happens again”.
“For there (to) be a peace, the Russian side is going to have to accept that Ukraine is a sovereign country that has a right to defend itself and has a right to enter into alliances with other countries to defend itself,” he added.
“What guarantees are built in there that are enforceable, that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few days.”
Russia’s core demands include Ukraine’s handover of five regions, agreement to abandon its bid to join Nato and acceptance of other limits on its sovereignty. Kyiv says any such deal would amount to capitulation. The Kremlin has previously rejected the prospect of western peacekeepers overseeing a deal to end the war.
The Alaska summit was widely seen as a victory for Mr Putin, because Mr Trump scrapped a threat to impose more heavy sanctions on Russia and dropped demands for an immediate ceasefire in favour of Moscow’s call for an overarching agreement to end the war.
After the summit, which was lauded by the Kremlin, Mr Trump publicly urged Kyiv to “make a deal” while reportedly telling Mr Zelenskiy that Russia was demanding the full withdrawal of Ukraine’s forces from its Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
