The administration of US President Donald Trump has signaled to Ukraine that security guarantees from the United States will depend on Kiev’s willingness to accept a peace deal, which would likely require Ukraine to cede the Donbas region to Russia, the newspaper reported on Tuesday. Financial Times, citing eight sources familiar with the negotiations.
According to the report, Washington has also hinted that it could offer Ukraine more weapons to strengthen its peacetime military if Kiev agrees to withdraw forces from some parts of the eastern region it currently controls.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Sunday that the US document on security guarantees for Ukraine is “100 percent ready” and that Kiev is now waiting to determine the time and place for signing.
However, Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be preserved in any potential peace agreement aimed at ending the war.
A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Ukraine is becoming increasingly uncertain whether Washington will actually commit to security guarantees, adding that the US “stops every time the documents on the guarantees are ready for signing.”
According to the report, Kiev wants security guarantees confirmed before any territorial concessions are made, while the United States believes that Ukraine must give up Donbas to end the war. It is also said that Trump is not pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw this demand.
The White House, on the other hand, has denied these claims. “This is completely incorrect – the only role of the United States in the peace process is to bring both sides to the table to reach an agreement,” said Anna Kelly, deputy White House spokeswoman.
A source familiar with the American position told the newspaper that Washington “is not trying to impose any territorial concessions on Ukraine,” adding that security guarantees depend on whether the two sides agree to a peace deal.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin stated on Monday that the issue of territories remains essential to any agreement aimed at ending the fighting in Ukraine, the Russian news agency TASS reported, following trilateral talks held last weekend in Abu Dhabi.
