On August 18 in Washington, US President Donald Trump and European leaders agreed to create a special working group to prepare security guarantees for Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing European officials.
The group will be led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It will include national security advisers and NATO representatives who will work on specific mechanisms to support Ukraine.
Four components of guarantees
According to European officials, future security guarantees for Ukraine include:
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military presence;
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air defense;
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supply of weapons;
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monitoring the implementation of agreements on the cessation of hostilities.
At the same time, the US can provide indirect military support to European peacekeepers, but the direct deployment of American troops in Ukraine is not currently being considered.
Allied positions
As the WSJ notes, European partners were encouraged by the fact that the topic of security guarantees was for the first time the subject of specific discussion between Washington and allies.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloni proposed a proposal during the meeting, "similar to the NATO Article 5 model," which would provide for a collective response in the event of an attack. It was also supported by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated on Fox News that Ukraine's membership in the Alliance is not currently under discussion, but the issue of security guarantees by analogy with Article 5 is being actively discussed. According to him, the negotiations have now reached a more concrete level.