Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to allow “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine from the US, as part of a potential peace deal discussed during his summit with US President Donald Trump on Friday, Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN during the State of the Union.
“We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game changing,” Witkoff told anchor Jake Tapperas he likened the guarantees to NATO’s Article 5, suggesting they would offer Ukraine protection against any future Russian invasion.
The enovy further said that Putin also committed to a “legislative enshrinement” from Russia, promising not to invade any additional territory in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe.
Land Swaps and Territorial Concessions
Witkoff further told the American media network that Putin discussed possible “land swaps” with Kyiv, including a proposal where Ukraine would cede the Donbas region in exchange for a freeze on the current front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
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From Ceasefire to Peace Deal
Noting that Putin made those concessions during the Friday talks in Alaska, Witkoff reportedly said, “The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions,”, without specifying the nature of the reported concessions made at the time.
Indicating that these matters would be taken up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the latter’s scheduled visit to the White House Monday, Witkoff also revealed that the progress made during the summit led President Trump to pivot away from pushing for a ceasefire and instead work toward a peace agreement.
“We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace deal that… President Trump pivoted to that place,” he said, per CNN as Trump envoy emphasised on the urgency of the situation. “We are intent on trying to hammer out a peace deal that ends the fighting permanently very, very quickly. Quicker than a ceasefire.”
A NATO-Like Guarantee, But Without NATO
To address Russia’s objections to Ukraine joining The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Witkoff said the parties discussed an alternative: a collective defense arrangement with “Article 5-like” protections.
“We were able to win the following concession: that the US could offer Article 5-like protection,” CNN quoted Witkoff as saying.
“For the first time, we are seeing accommodation more than we have seen in the past… Now we have to get a deal for the Ukrainians,” he added.
