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Ukraine's ambassador to NATO said Thursday that concrete security guarantees must be established before any peace agreement can be reached with Russia, marking a firm position as diplomatic efforts intensify around ending the nearly three-year conflict.
Alyona Getmanchuk told AFP that security guarantees are now a "precondition for reaching the deal," reversing the sequencing preferred by some Western partners who favor negotiating peace first and addressing security arrangements afterward. The guarantees must be codified in a legally binding treaty rather than offered as mere assurances, she said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Ukraine is seeking language approaching the strength of NATO's Article 5, which obligates all alliance members to defend any member that comes under attack. Such protections would likely involve a treaty with the United States and potentially several European nations, Getmanchuk indicated.
A coalition of Ukrainian allies, co-chaired by France and Britain, is currently discussing security guarantee frameworks designed to deter future Russian aggression should a peace settlement be achieved. The arrangements under consideration include deploying a multinational reassurance force in Ukraine, though the specific composition and mandate of such a presence remain under negotiation.
The effectiveness of any security architecture is widely viewed as dependent on American participation, but Washington's commitment remains ambiguous. Getmanchuk emphasized the need for clarity on potential US involvement, asking what American support would look like as a backstop for European security commitments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he had held discussions about security guarantees with senior US officials, though he provided no additional details about the substance of those conversations.
The intensified diplomacy comes after US President Donald Trump proposed a plan last month aimed at ending the conflict. The proposal has generated renewed discussions among Ukrainian officials, European leaders, and American policymakers about potential pathways to a negotiated settlement.
Meanwhile, the European Union is weighing a separate but related initiative to leverage approximately 200 billion euros ($232 billion) in frozen Russian central bank assets currently immobilized within EU jurisdiction. European leaders are scheduled to discuss the proposal when they convene in Brussels next week.
Getmanchuk described the potential use of these assets to fund a substantial loan for Ukraine as a "game-changer," arguing it would demonstrate to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine will not succumb to economic pressure. The frozen assets represent Russian reserves that were immobilized by Western sanctions following Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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