U.S. security agreement for Ukraine is ’100% ready’ to be signed, Zelensky says
The Ukrainian president acknowledged that territorial issues are still not resolved.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that a U.S. security guarantees document for Ukraine is “100% ready” after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.
Speaking to journalists in Vilnius during a visit to Lithuania, Zelensky said Ukraine is waiting for its partners to set a signing date, after which the document would go to the U.S. Congress and Ukrainian parliament for ratification.
Zelensky also emphasized Ukraine’s push for European Union membership by 2027, calling it an “economic security guarantee.”
The Ukrainian leader described the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as likely the first trilateral format in “quite a long while” that included not only diplomats but military representatives from all three sides. The talks, which began on Friday and continued Saturday, were the latest aiming to end Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion.
Zelensky acknowledged fundamental differences between Ukrainian and Russian positions, reaffirming territorial issues as a major sticking point.
“Our position regarding our territory — Ukraine’s territorial integrity — must be respected,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during marathon talks late Thursday. The Kremlin insisted that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.
Zelensky said the U.S. is trying to find a compromise, but that “all sides must be ready for compromise.”
Negotiators will return to the UAE on Feb. 1 for the next round of talks, according to a U.S. official. The recent talks covered a broad range of military and economic matters and included the possibility of a ceasefire before a deal, the official said. There was not yet an agreement on a final framework for oversight and operation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.