“Progress” in peace negotiations. “Closer than ever” to a deal, Trump says / US promises Ukraine “very strong” NATO-level security guarantees / Zelenskiy: “Looks pretty good”

American negotiators gave assurances on Monday that, in the negotiations on the outline of an agreement to end the war, the United States offered Ukraine “very strong” security guarantees, at NATO level, but which are still – in their opinion – acceptable to Russia as well, reports France Presse.

10:30 p.m

“Closer than ever” to a deal

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a deal on Ukraine was “never” so “close” after a long talk with Volodymyr Zelenskiy and several European leaders gathered in Berlin.

“We are today closer than ever” to an agreement to end the war with Russia, the President of the United States said in the Oval Office.

Before this statement, Trump called Berlin, where, along with Zelenski and the European leaders, are also his special emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, sent to negotiate the peace agreement for Ukraine.

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During two days of talks in Berlin with Ukrainian negotiators, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, the United States offered “very strong security guarantees” for Ukraine, similar to those in Article 5 of the NATO treaty, a senior American official said, according to AFP.

“Everything that we think the Ukrainians need to feel safe is included” in the security component of the draft agreement, the US official stressed during a press conference.

“They won't be on the table forever”

An American negotiator who also participated in this telephone conference with journalists warned, however, that these security guarantees for Ukraine, about which he did not provide concrete details, “will not be on the table indefinitely.”

According to these two sources, American President Donald Trump is going to contact his Ukrainian counterpart and the European leaders, during a dinner they will attend, on Monday evening, on the sidelines of the discussions in the German capital.

The US official previously quoted by AFP, who asked to remain anonymous, like the negotiator, believes that Russia “would accept” the draft agreement, including the promise of security guarantees, while insisting that Ukraine and European leaders are very happy about the matter.

“Really positive discussions”

The issue of security guarantees is an extremely sensitive point for Moscow, which has always categorically rejected Ukraine's accession to NATO and the Alliance's mutual defense mechanism.

The discussions held with Ukraine on Sunday and Monday were “really positive”, the high-ranking American official also assured on Monday in his conversation with the press.

He indicated that US special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has assumed an unofficial mediating role, held a total of nearly eight hours of talks over two days with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We are hopeful that we are on the path to peace,” the Washington official said.

According to these two American sources, the talks with the Ukrainians also contributed to a rapprochement of positions on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant occupied by Moscow's troops in southern Ukraine, as well as on territorial issues.

“Progress”, Zelenski also announces

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on Monday about “progress” in the negotiations on US security guarantees for his country, after two days of talks in Berlin with Washington's emissaries, AFP notes.

“We have made progress in this area,” he told a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“I've seen the details” and “it looks pretty good, even if it's just a first draft,” Zelenskiy continued.

For his part, Friedrich Merz said that the talks between the United States and Ukraine held in Berlin offer a “real chance for a peace process” with Russia, with Washington presenting a “remarkable” set of security guarantees for Kiev.

After these two days of negotiations in the capital of Germany, American emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are to attend a meeting of European leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday evening, Merz also indicated.

Ukraine, willing to give up NATO membership

Ukraine said on Sunday it was willing to give up its ambition to join the NATO alliance in exchange for security guarantees from the West.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that while Ukraine is prepared to abandon its NATO membership aspirations, it will continue to demand “Article 5-like” security guarantees from US and European partners.

But it was not immediately clear how far the talks had progressed on that issue or on other vital issues, such as the future of Ukrainian territory, and to what extent the Berlin talks could persuade Russia to agree to a truce.

The reaction of the Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Monday that Ukraine's failure to join NATO was a fundamental issue in negotiations on a possible peace deal and that it was the subject of a special discussion.

“Naturally, this matter is one of the cornerstones and, of course, the subject of a special discussion,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said that Russia is waiting for updated information from Washington after the talks between the US and European countries and Ukraine, which are taking place in Berlin.

The start of a crucial week

The European Union began a critical week on Monday in which it will have to do everything it can to help Ukraine get the best possible peace deal while trying to salvage an agreement on a billion-euro loan to Kiev.

European leaders plan to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and US officials in Berlin on Monday in an attempt to make progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

At the same time in Brussels, EU foreign ministers and diplomats will push to win the support of as many governments as possible for a loan plan for Kiev, in preparation for a decision that should be taken at the European Council later this week.

The pressures are high, and not just from Donald Trump, who has slammed the Europeans as weak and is trying to force a peace deal that EU leaders say is unfavorable to Ukraine.

The main pressure comes from Moscow itself. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned last week that Europe is Russia's “next target”.

“Russia has brought war back to Europe and we must be prepared for a war on the scale of the one our grandfathers and great-grandfathers endured,” he said.

Territories and security guarantees

Donald Trump has proposed the withdrawal of both Ukrainian and Russian troops and the establishment of a demilitarized “free economic zone” in which US commercial interests could operate.

Ukraine rejected that proposal, according to a French official cited by Politico, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The US has insisted on territorial concessions despite Europe's vehement objections, the official added, which has raised tensions.

At the same time, European leaders insist that no progress can be made on the territories if Ukraine is not given security guarantees.

In a sign of progress, Zelenskiy said over the weekend that he was willing to make “compromise” and stop calling for Ukraine to join NATO. Instead, he said, the country should be granted an ad hoc collective defense agreement.

“Bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States and security guarantees from our European colleagues, as well as from other countries such as Canada and Japan – these security guarantees give us an opportunity to prevent another outbreak of Russian aggression,” he said.

Europe will have other opportunities to discuss the way forward after Monday. EU foreign ministers will continue to discuss plans for Thursday's summit in Brussels on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Europe's “eastern flank” will meet in Helsinki.

Nicusor Dan will be present at this meeting. The President participates, together with the leaders of Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany and Bulgaria, at the Summit of the EU States on the Eastern Flank, convened by the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

A difficult loan to obtain

In the meantime, the EU needs to come up with the money that Kiev desperately needs.

European leaders have been trying for months to get Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to agree to a plan to use frozen Russian assets held by Belgian depository Euroclear to guarantee a loan needed to finance and arm Ukraine.

The news for those who want this deal is not great.

Italy – the EU's third-largest country – joined Belgium's calls to look for alternative financing options for Ukraine in a letter also signed by Malta and Bulgaria.

And the Czech Republic's new prime minister, Andrej Babiš, also rejected the plan on Sunday.

The five countries – joined by already pro-Kremlin Hungary and Slovakia – could not form a blocking minority, but their public criticism erodes the Commission's hopes of reaching a political agreement this week.

A meeting of EU ambassadors, originally planned for Sunday evening, has been postponed until Monday.

While all these problems have raised fears of a failure, with Ukraine in desperate need of money, three diplomats insisted they will stick to the plan and are not considering an alternative.

The decision on Russian assets is “a decision on the future of Europe and will determine whether the EU is still a relevant actor”.