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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced that 30 countries, including Japan and Australia, are developing security guarantees for Ukraine, with the United States now prepared to join the framework following White House talks between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the administration is working with European and non-European allies to establish security arrangements for Ukraine following the Russia-Ukraine peace process.
"Everyone, including Russia, I think, will accept that post-conflict Ukraine has the right to establish security agreements with other countries," Rubio said on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" program.
"We are working with our European allies and, by the way, non-European countries to create this type of security guarantee," he added.
Rutte, speaking to Fox News after what he described as "very successful" White House discussions, revealed the international effort's scope and leadership structure.
"So over the last couple of months, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, a group of now 30 countries, including Japan and Australia, are working on this concept of security guarantees," Rutte said.
The NATO chief confirmed U.S. involvement: "What the US has now said is that the United States wants to get involved in this. Exactly what is meant by US involvement will be discussed over the coming days."
According to Rutte, the countries are focused on security guarantees that could take effect after a cease-fire or, preferably, a full peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Rubio outlined a fundamental shift in how the U.S. supports Ukraine militarily, moving from direct aid to a sales-based model.
"We're no longer giving Ukraine weapons. We're no longer giving Ukraine money either. We're now selling them weapons, and European countries are paying for it through NATO," Rubio explained.
"They're using NATO to purchase the weapons and transfer them to Ukraine," he noted.
The secretary of state emphasized that "the best security guarantee" Ukraine could obtain would be having a strong military.
When the program host commented that a precious metals agreement would also be "a nice security guarantee," Rubio responded, "Right."
Rutte clarified that current discussions focus on security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 collective defense provision, rather than actual NATO membership for Ukraine.
"The official NATO position since the summit of 2024 is that there is an irreversible path for Ukraine into NATO," Rutte said.
"But what we are discussing here is not NATO membership. What we are discussing here is Article 5-type security guarantees for Ukraine," he added.
When asked whether territorial concessions by Ukraine were addressed, Rutte said the issue was not discussed in Washington.
Zelenskyy characterized the security guarantees as crucial for ending the conflict in posts on social media platform X following the meetings.
"We discussed many issues with U.S. President Donald Trump. It was a long and detailed discussion," Zelenskyy wrote.
"We addressed many topics, including the situation on the battlefield and our steps that will bring peace closer. There were also meetings in various formats with European leaders and the U.S. president," he added.
On security guarantees specifically, Zelenskyy stated: "This is a key issue on the path to ending the war, a starting point. We welcome the important signal that the U.S. is ready to support and be part of these guarantees."
The Ukrainian president noted that "important negotiations took place in Washington" and emphasized the release of prisoners as another crucial topic.
"Great importance was also given to the release of prisoners of war and civilians detained by Russia," Zelenskyy said. "We agreed to work together on this. The U.S. president also supported a leaders-level meeting. Such a meeting is necessary for resolving sensitive issues."
Rutte revealed that Trump's Monday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin resulted in an agreement for a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting ahead of a planned trilateral summit.
"He was able, in a conversation with President Putin, to have Putin agree to first a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. So they will now discuss where that would be," Rutte said.
Rubio assessed the significance of this development: "Even Putin saying 'Of course I'll meet with Zelenskyy' is a big deal. I'm not saying they're going to leave that room as best friends. I'm not saying they're going to leave that room with a peace agreement. But considering the fact that people are now talking to each other, I think this hasn't happened for 3.5 years."
When asked about expectations for the planned Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he could not say anything at present but underlined that "a cease-fire must be achieved in Ukraine as soon as possible."
Merz conveyed that Zelenskyy had expressed that a meeting with Putin without a cease-fire would be "unthinkable" for him.
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