Rubio, Yermak lead talks on security guarantees, hope to finalize plan for Ukraine by end of next week, media reports
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Presidential Office Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak met on Aug. 22 to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, the news outlet Suspilne reported, citing sources in the Presidential Office familiar with the negotiations.
The meeting comes amid a push from Ukraine's allies to hammer out postwar security guarantees for Kyiv following a high-level meeting in Washington with President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and European partners.
Rubio led the U.S. delegation, which included high-ranking American generals, while Yermak headed the Ukrainian team, Suspilne reported, citing Presidential Office sources and Yermak aide Oleksandr Bevz.
National security advisers for the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Finland also participated, along with representatives of NATO and the European Commission.
The parties reportedly plan to finalize their postwar security model for Ukraine by the end of next week.
The meeting coincided with an official visit from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said in a press conference with Zelensky that Ukraine's allies were working out security guarantees at "such a level that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sitting in Moscow will never try to attack Ukraine again."
Rutte said the agreement will consist of two layers: strengthening Ukraine's army and securing commitments from the U.S. and Europe aimed at deterring Russia in the event of future aggression.
Sources told Suspilne that the negotiations on security guarantees involve two sub-teams, one focused on the details of a political and legal model while the other focuses on the military aspects. Yermak is leading the political group, while Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov lead the military talks.
"I think that the military part is actually already at a certain stage of completion," the source told Suspilne.
The military guarantees reportedly involve weapons deliveries, financial support, intelligence sharing, and joint military exercises and trainings.
Bevz told the outlet that the political negotiators are hoping to establish a collective defense agreement for Ukraine along the lines of NATO's Article 5.
"In Ukraine's view, this should be a system of bilateral binding agreements ratified by the parliaments of the respective countries," Bevz said. "That is, it is not simply a duplication of Article 5 ... but rather an algorithm that must have both a time frame and specific dimensions: financial, military, intelligence, etc."
Bloomberg reported on Aug. 19 that the package of security guarantees for Ukraine might be finalized in the coming days. European officials have reportedly discussed sending British and French troops to Ukraine, along with contingents from roughly 10 other countries.
Trump told Fox News on Aug. 19 that Washington could provide air support as part of the guarantees but ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops to Ukraine.
