The issue of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine has been a major question over Donald Trump’s push to end the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict between the country and Russia.
Security guarantees have become a central focus in discussions about a peace deal for Ukraine. To this, US Vice President, JD Vance has said that European countries will have to shoulder the “lion’s share” of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in the event of a deal to end Russia’s war in the country.
In an interview with a news agency, Vance said that the US should not have to “carry the burden” of underpinning Kyiv’s post-war security.
“I think that we should be helpful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I think that we should expect, and the President certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here.
“What he said very clearly is: Look, the United States is open to have the conversation, but we’re not going to make commitments until we figure out what is going to be necessary to stop the war in the first place.”
JD Vance
Vance’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of US troops in Ukraine, while suggesting that Washington could provide support “by air.”
After hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White House for talks on the war on Monday, Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defence,” but that Washington would provide “a lot of help.”
While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have raised the possibility of offering Kyiv a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate.
Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance.
While Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to European peacekeepers being stationed in Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of troops from NATO countries along its border.
Despite the sticking points between the sides, Vance said that the Trump administration had made “great progress” in its efforts to end the war.
“You can never say with certainty what the outcome in this situation is going to be but we now have the Russians talking to the Ukrainians; they’re talking details about what would be necessary on each side to stop the fighting, to stop the killing.”
JD Vance
Russia Warns Against Exclusion From Talks On Security Guarantees
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov said that his country would need to be included in negotiations on security guarantees. He said, “We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation,” adding, “This will not work.”
“I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia; it’s a road to nowhere.”
Sergey Lavrov
Lavrov also cautioned that any potential summit between Putin and Zelenskyy “must be prepared in the most meticulous way” to avoid worsening the conflict.
“We have only seen aggressive escalation of the situation and rather clumsy attempts to change the position of the US President. We did not hear any constructive ideas from the Europeans there.”
Sergey Lavrov
In the meantime, Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said later on Wednesday that Kyiv has already begun intensive coordination with European and NATO national security advisers to advance concrete military security guarantees and prevent future aggression.
Yermak said that Ukrainian military teams have already begun working on the defence components of the guarantees and warned of the consequences if Moscow delays peace talks.
Separately, NATO military Chiefs met on Wednesday to discuss the details of these potential security guarantees for Ukraine amid efforts to broker a ceasefire to Russia’s offensive.
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