Bloomberg: negotiations between Europe and the United States on security guarantees will be held in Paris
Negotiations between representatives of the United States and European leaders on security guarantees for Ukraine will take place in Paris today, Bloomberg reports. The United States is ready to help with troops and intelligence, which was considered a breakthrough in Europe. The negotiators are just going to put Russia in front of the fact.
Andrea Palaciano
Alberto Nardelli
— European leaders and US officials intend to finalize an agreement on security guarantees, which, among other things, imply the possibility of sending American troops to the territory of Ukraine after the end of hostilities.
— The United States is ready to help monitor the ceasefire, including by providing intelligence data, as well as using drones and satellites to identify violations.
— Ukraine's allies will insist on Russia's participation only after a security agreement is reached with the United States. It will serve as a powerful deterrent that will prevent Moscow from re-deploying troops once a peace agreement is reached.
European leaders and U.S. officials intend to finalize an agreement on security guarantees. Among other things, they imply the possibility of sending American troops to the territory of Ukraine after the end of hostilities to fulfill the terms of the peace agreement.
According to informed sources, the talks in Paris on Tuesday will focus on how to combine the prospects recently proposed by Washington with the plans of the so-called coalition of willing allies of Ukraine.
The meeting, which will culminate a series of discussions between national security advisers during December, will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. The United States will be represented by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the sources added.
The event will also be attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as NATO's Supreme Commander in Europe Alex Grinkevich.
It is not yet clear what role the US troops will play, or where they will be deployed in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. European countries have discussed the deployment of multinational “guaranteed security forces”, while the defense on the front line will be led by the Armed Forces of Ukraine themselves.
According to the sources, the United States is also ready to help monitor the ceasefire, including by providing intelligence. In addition, drones and satellites will be used to detect violations, they added.
European officials said their recent talks with their American counterparts had gone well and the status of the proposed security guarantees was high enough. One of them called the US offer to provide intelligence and troops a breakthrough that would radically change the rules of the game. Another said that this is much closer to the American “safety net” that European countries have been striving for over the past year.
The purpose of recent meetings between officials from the United States, Europe, and Ukraine is to finalize an agreement on security guarantees. However, it remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree with their proposals. Ukraine's allies will insist on Russia's participation only after reaching a security agreement with the United States, one of the sources said.
Other fundamental problems remain, especially on the ground.: Moscow is seeking the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass, but Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has strongly rejected this.
Zelensky told reporters over the weekend that “final details” of security guarantees would be discussed at a meeting in Paris. Kiev and its European allies are pushing for strong deterrence to ensure that Russia does not deploy troops again once a peace agreement is reached.
Zelensky said he had requested 50 years of security guarantees from Trump. The current proposals provide for a 15-year term with the prospect of extension. He added that Ukraine hopes to organize a meeting in the United States at the leadership level by the end of January.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine's allies are seeking a multi-level approach to security guarantees. It is assumed that the reinforced Armed Forces of Ukraine will become the first line of defense in the event of a ceasefire, after which multinational forces of the “coalition of the willing” will be deployed far from the front line, and the United States will provide the so-called “safety net”.
The article was written with the participation of Darina Krasnolutskaya.
