According to him, “there will be no deal if Ukraine and its people cannot believe that in the event of a diplomatic settlement they will be able to live in peace.”
This will require strong security guarantees from Washington in addition to strong guarantees from Europe, he said. Witkoff believes that this principle was laid down from the very beginning of the negotiations in Geneva (Switzerland).
On February 26, Witkoff, along with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, held talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva. The head of the Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, wrote in Telegram that the agenda of the meeting included mechanisms for economic support and restoration of Ukraine and preparation for a new round of negotiations with the Russian Federation.
Vitkoff previously stated that in a conversation with the Kremlin, “we should first try to resolve other issues, and leave the territorial issue to the discretion of the leaders,” NYP writes. If the summit takes place, Witkoff added, another meeting with the participation of President Trump is possible, although the envoy made a reservation that it is “too early to talk about this.”
Context
In an interview published on December 26, 2025, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the United States offered Ukraine an agreement under which security guarantees would be provided for 15 years.
On January 6, 2026, following a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris, Ukraine, France and Great Britain signed a declaration of intent on the upcoming deployment of multinational forces in Ukraine after the end of the war. French President Emmanuel Macron said that within the framework of the “coalition of the willing” there is a mechanism for monitoring the ceasefire, which must be ensured by the United States.
US representatives at the “coalition of the willing” negotiations in Paris did not join the joint statement on security guarantees, Politico noted. Details of US participation in a multinational force for Ukraine were removed from the draft communiqué, journalists say, although in previous versions the US intended to “support forces in the event of an attack” and provide assistance in the field of intelligence and logistics.
On January 22, Zelensky said that the document on security guarantees from the United States was ready.
The United States indicated to Ukraine that it must sign a peace agreement with the Russian Federation to provide security guarantees, Reuters wrote on January 27. Zelensky noted that security guarantees for Ukraine should be given before the ceasefire.
In an interview released on February 12, Zelensky admitted that the issue of security guarantees from the United States remains unresolved.
