Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The peace talks in Abu Dhabi this weekend ended without a deal.
Sunday, Volodomyr Zelenskiy told the press, that the security guarantees for Ukraine from the U.S.. are “100%” ready, and that Ukraine is now waiting for its partners to confirm a time and place for the signing, Reuters reported Monday.
The security guarantees have long been a demand from Ukraine if a peace deal with Russia is to be signed.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamet both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy for not being ready for peace at the same time, so it might seem illogical, that the security guarantees have not been signed yet, as it could be the final push needed for a peace deal.
So why haven’t they been signed?
Security for territory
According to the Financial Times, the Donald Trump administration has privately indicated to Ukrainian officials that U.S. security guarantees would depend on Kyiv accepting a peace deal that may involve giving up control of the Donbas region to Russia.
The newspaper cited eight people familiar with the discussions.
The FT also reported that Washington has suggested it could offer Ukraine additional weapons to reinforce its military in peacetime if Ukrainian forces withdraw from areas of eastern Ukraine they currently hold.
Kyiv’s concerns
Zelensky has repeatedly said that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be upheld in any agreement to end the war. Ukrainian officials have stressed that security assurances must come before any territorial concessions.
A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Kyiv is increasingly unsure whether Washington is prepared to commit, saying the US “stop every time when the security guarantees are ready to be signed.”
The US view, according to the FT, is that relinquishing Donbas is necessary to bring the conflict to an end, while Washington is not actively pressing Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon that demand.
Official denials
The White House has rejected claims that it is pushing Ukraine to give up territory. Anna Kelly, the deputy White House press secretary, said:
“This is completely false – the only role of the US in the peace process is to bring the two sides to the negotiating table to reach an agreement,” she told FT.
A person familiar with the US position told the newspaper that Washington is “not trying to impose territorial concessions on Ukraine” and that any security guarantees would depend on a mutually agreed peace deal.
The Kremlin said on Monday, following talks in Abu Dhabi, that territorial issues remain central to any agreement to end the fighting.
Sources: Reuters, Financial Times
