Russia has agreed in principle to allow the United States and European allies to extend a security guarantee to Ukraine modelled on NATO’s collective defence clause, according to Washington’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Witkoff said the breakthrough came during last week’s Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
“We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article Five-like language to cover a security guarantee,” Witkoff told host Jake Tapper. “Putin has said that a red flag is NATO admission. And so what we were discussing was assuming that that held, assuming that the Ukrainians could agree to that, and could live with that.”
The envoy stressed that the proposal would hinge on Kyiv’s acceptance. “Everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with,” he said.
Nevertheless, Witkoff described the development as significant, noting that for the first time Russia had signalled willingness to accept Washington offering Ukraine the kind of protection that lies at the heart of NATO membership.
“That is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he added. “We were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer Article Five protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”
