French media: Trump claims the Ukraine-Russia peace agreement is within reach

Berlin - After intensive discussions with European and Ukrainian officials in Berlin, the U.S. government formally proposed a security guarantee scheme similar to NATO's Article Five to Ukraine, as an important step to push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. U.S. officials said this is the most explicit and strongest security commitment made by the Trump administration to Kyiv so far, but it also carries an implied time limit, meaning that if negotiations fail to make progress, the related guarantees may not be long-term.

Trump said at an event at the White House on Monday that the agreement was "within reach" and stated that the leaders of both sides "sometimes want to end the war, sometimes backtrack," therefore the United States needs to bring both sides back to the negotiating table to achieve consensus and make substantial progress.

"I believe we are closer than ever to achieving this goal," Trump said, "We have received strong support from European leaders. They also want to end this conflict."

According to U.S. officials, the plan provides a so-called "similar to Article Five" security guarantee, drawing on the spirit of NATO's collective defense clause, through legal and substantive commitments to deter Russia from invading again.

The talks were held in Berlin on Monday, and the atmosphere was relatively optimistic. U.S. envoy Witko and President Trump's son-in-law and advisor Kushner represented the White House, attending two-day talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his team, as well as officials from various European countries. U.S. officials revealed that Trump planned to join the European leaders' dinner via phone on Monday evening to discuss the progress of the agreement with NATO Secretary General Lüter and European Commission President von der Leyen.

At present, the territorial dispute over Ukraine remains the biggest obstacle in the negotiations. According to informed sources, the U.S. supported Russia's demands in the discussion, advocating for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, although Russian forces have never fully controlled the area since 2014. Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected this demand and, together with European allies, has advocated that the ceasefire line should remain at the current contact line. He said, "We are trying to make our position clearly understood."

Nevertheless, Trump administration officials still believe there has been significant progress. An official assessed that about 90% of the issues between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have been resolved, with the remaining sticking points concentrated on territorial concessions. The U.S. has proposed several "thought-provoking" ideas, including establishing an "economic free zone" to help resolve the deadlock, but the details are not yet finalized.

The security guarantee plan was further refined during the talks. U.S. officials pointed out that the mechanism would include arrangements to deter Russia from invading again, establish a de-escalation mechanism for the conflict, and monitor future peace agreements, but it does not include direct U.S. military presence in Ukraine. The agreement will also specify the consequences Russia must face if it violates the commitment. One official described it as "the strongest set of security standards they have seen, very, very strong."

In addition, Trump is willing to submit this U.S.-backed security guarantee to Congress for review, which another official called the "gold standard" that Washington can offer. The U.S. also said it believes Moscow will eventually accept the arrangement, and Russia has already signaled openness towards Ukraine joining the EU.

However, American media "Politico" and CNN both cited reports stating that the agreement proposed by the Trump administration is not "permanently valid," implying that this "generous" proposal might be a final ultimatum from Trump, urging Ukraine and Russia to accelerate negotiations.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1851660448616970/

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