US officials provide contradictory statements on security guarantees, fueling uncertainty ahead of Trump-Zelensky meeting
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia envoy Steve Witkoff provided contradicting statements on the outcomes of the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 17, fueling uncertainty about the progress of U.S.-led security guarantees for Ukraine.
The contradictory outlook comes as Trump told reporters after his meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska that the two leaders "largely agreed" on security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial swaps, which would require Ukraine giving up some land to Russia.
In comments to various media networks on Aug. 17, both Witkoff and Rubio addressed the outcomes of U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine stemming from the Trump-Putin meeting.
Witkoff who directly participated in the meeting between Trump and Putin told CNN that Putin has already agreed to "robust security agreements that I would describe as game changing."
"We didn't think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article 5 protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified," Witkoff said. "Legislative enshrinement in the Russian Federation not to go after any other European countries and violate their their sovereignty. So we agreed to, and there was plenty more."
Rubio, who was also in attendance in the "three-on-three" meeting with the Russian delegation led by Putin, provided differing accounts on the progress of talks on a U.S.-led security guarantee.
"There's going to have to be some security guarantees as part of (a peace deal). How that's structured, how that's built, and what our role will be, that will be the kinds of things we'll have to work through," Rubio told NBC News. "It's one of (Ukraine's) fundamental demands, is that if this were to end, they have to make sure this never happens again. They don't want to get reinvaded,"
As President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to visit the White House on Aug. 18 alongside a number of European leaders for talks with Trump, Zelensky expressed concern over a lack of detail on what security agreement may look like.
"It is important that America agrees to work with Europe on providing Ukraine with security guarantees – and we are very grateful to the United States and the President for this signal," Zelensky said on social media following talks with European leaders.
"However, there are still no details on how this will work – what America's role will be, what Europe's role will be, and what the EU can do. And this is our main task. We need security that will function in practice, like NATO’s Article 5," Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian president added that Kyiv considers "EU membership to be part of security guarantees. And we heard from President Trump that both America and Putin see it the same way."
As confusion widens over a lack of detail on potential security guarantees from the summit with Putin, Trump has not yet commented on what a final potential agreement may look like.
Ukrainian and European leaders have long urged the U.S. to back robust security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire agreement with Russia. The Trump administration has thus far been hesitant to commit to such guarantees, a stance that initially derailed the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal and has injected uncertainty into the plans of the so-called "coalition of the willing."
French President Emmanuel Macron said Aug. 13 that the U.S. is prepared to provide Ukraine with security guarantees once peace is established, but NATO membership is not on the table as a possible guarantee.
