{"id":4335,"date":"2025-12-18T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/ukraine-peace-plan-edges-forward-as-us-offers-nato-style-guarantees\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T05:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T05:15:02","slug":"ukraine-peace-plan-edges-forward-as-us-offers-nato-style-guarantees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/ukraine-peace-plan-edges-forward-as-us-offers-nato-style-guarantees\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine peace plan edges forward as US offers Nato-style guarantees"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n

Vladimir Putin has dismissed European leaders as \u201clittle pigs\u201d, as Russia hardened its public stance on a US-backed peace framework that would offer Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees but stop short of full alliance membership.<\/p>\n

Russian officials said they would not return territory occupied in Ukraine or accept the presence of foreign peacekeepers, following the presentation of a revised 20-point framework discussed during talks involving Ukraine, the United States and European governments. Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow viewed the proposals with \u201cextreme seriousness\u201d, but added that Russia would not agree to terms that, in his words, \u201cignore the realities on the ground\u201d. \u201cThere can be no question of any withdrawal from these territories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels on 18 December to press EU leaders for financial support. \u201cIf we can agree upon a plan to end the war, then a decision on using this money will be directed fully towards reconstruction,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cRight now, we are talking about \u20ac200 billion located within the European Union.\u201d He said discussions on the peace framework could move to the United States, depending on Russia\u2019s response. US officials said about 90 per cent of the draft framework had been agreed.<\/p>\n

Zelensky has also linked any peace settlement to the use of frozen Russian assets held in the West. \u201cToday we are talking about reparations money not only in the sense of reconstruction,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there is a war, we need this money. We need a decision that supports our armed forces and our defence production. Of course, [we need] European support and, of course, air defence missiles from the United States.\u201d One senior official said Washington had proposed security arrangements modelled on Nato\u2019s Article 5 collective defence clause, describing them as the \u201cplatinum standard\u201d of protection. Details of how the United States would respond to any ceasefire violation have not been made public.<\/p>\n

European governments have proposed a multinational force drawn from countries participating in the so-called Coalition of the Willing, with backing from the United States. Russian officials have repeatedly said they would not accept any Nato-linked force operating in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

During extended talks with US negotiators, Zelensky discussed Ukraine\u2019s long-standing ambition to join Nato. He has said Ukraine is prepared to step back from membership as part of a settlement. President Donald Trump, who has opposed Ukrainian Nato membership since returning to office, said prospects for a deal were improving. \u201cWe\u2019re closer now than we have been, ever,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n

Territorial issues remain among the most contentious. Ukraine\u2019s air force said Russia launched 82 drones, including around 50 Shahed loitering munitions, overnight, with hits recorded at 12 locations. \u201cThe enemy attacked with 82 unmanned aerial vehicles,\u201d the Ukrainian Air Force said. Air defences destroyed or jammed 63 of the drones, but strikes were recorded at 12 locations across the country, underlining Kyiv\u2019s argument that security guarantees and air defence remain central to any settlement. Ukraine\u2019s constitution prohibits the formal ceding of territory, and Zelensky has said he cannot agree to surrender land currently occupied by Russia. A US official said discussions had included territorial proposals that Zelensky would take back to his team, adding that \u201creal progress\u201d had been made, without giving details.<\/p>\n

The talks also covered the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, under Russian control since the early stages of the invasion. Zelensky has identified the plant as one of the most difficult unresolved issues in negotiations, alongside questions of reparations and long-term financing for Ukraine. A proposal in an earlier 28-point US draft, later reduced to 20 points, included shared arrangements for electricity generation from the site. A US official said negotiators were close to an agreement in principle, though specifics remain undisclosed.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s future relationship with the European Union is also included in the framework. EU leaders are also weighing a proposed so-called reparations loan for Ukraine, drawing on frozen Russian assets. \u201cI will speak to all leaders, present our arguments and I very much hope we can get a positive decision,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cWithout it, there will be a big problem for Ukraine.\u201d US officials said Russia would accept Ukrainian EU membership as part of a broader settlement. A senior source told AFP that accession could take place as early as January 2027, although EU diplomats cautioned that the timeline was optimistic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Staff Writer Vladimir Putin has dismissed European leaders as \u201clittle pigs\u201d, as Russia hardened its public stance on a US-backed peace framework that would offer Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees but stop short of full alliance membership. Russian officials said they would not return territory occupied in Ukraine or accept the presence of foreign peacekeepers,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4339,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4335\/revisions\/4339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}