Security guarantees in focus in Ukraine peace talks in Berlin

 

Security guarantees in focus in Ukraine peace talks in Berlin

 

“The key thing is that all the steps we agree on with partners must work in practice to deliver guaranteed security,” Zelenskyy said.

 

December 14, 2025 2:46 pm CET

By Jones Hayden

https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-us-envoys-in-berlin-peace-talks/

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin on Sunday for another round of peace talks, with Kyiv emphasizing that strong security guarantees are an essential component of any prospective deal to end the war.

 

Zelenskyy said there will be “meetings in Berlin today and tomorrow” to discuss the proposals on the table to find an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he will meet personally with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Berlin.

 

“The key thing is that all the steps we agree on with partners must work in practice to deliver guaranteed security,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet Sunday afternoon from Berlin. “Only reliable guarantees can deliver peace. We count on our partners to continue working constructively as well.”

 

Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin, Zelenskyy said. But the exact timing and scope of the talks haven’t been disclosed. Delegations will be meeting on Sunday, followed by a summit on Monday.

 

“The summit in Berlin is important: we are meeting with both the Americans and the Europeans,” Zelenskyy told journalists in a WhatsApp group chat earlier Sunday, according to a transcript of his remarks. “It is important for us. And believe me, we have done a lot to ensure that these parties all meet together.”

 

Zelenskyy and the U.S. delegation led by Witkoff and Kushner met at the Federal Chancellery Sunday afternoon, a German official said.

 

Zelenskyy emphasized the need for Ukraine to receive firm guarantees from the United States and European allies that would be similar to those offered to NATO members, according to the transcript of the group chat.

 

“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” the Ukrainian leader said. “And this is already a compromise on our part.”

 

Zelenskyy suggested that Kyiv could accept the strong security guarantees as a potential substitute for its long-term goal of joining NATO. Bilateral security pacts between Ukraine and the U.S. that function similarly to NATO’s Article 5, as well as guarantees from Europe and other countries, could prevent “another coming of Russian aggression,” he said.

 

Zelenskyy emphasized that the security guarantees would need to be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress. He said he expected an update from his team following a meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. military officials in Stuttgart.

 

“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said in an address late Saturday.

 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week said Germany is inviting Washington to join a meeting in Berlin to discuss Ukraine. But whether Washington joins will “very much depend” on progress in negotiations “over the weekend” on the underlying documents, he added.

 

The chancellor’s spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, said separately that “numerous European heads of state and government, as well as the leaders of the EU and NATO, will join the talks.”

 

The talks in Berlin are to discuss the latest version of a 20-point peace plan brokered by the U.S. just days after Ukraine sent its revised version to Washington.

 

A major sticking point in the negotiations is the fate of territory in eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv refuses to cede after Moscow’s occupation. European leaders are racing to assert their relevance in the process amid concerns that Washington’s proposals lean toward Russia and put demands on Ukraine that Zelenskyy will not be able to accept.

 

Among Moscow’s key conditions for peace, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Kyiv to withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control — a demand that Zelenskyy again rejected on Sunday. Zelenskyy said that Washington had floated an idea for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk and create a demilitarized free economic zone there, a proposal he rejected as unworkable.

 

“I do not consider this fair, because who will manage this economic zone?” he said. “If we are talking about some buffer zone along the line of contact, if we are talking about some economic zone and we believe that only a police mission should be there and troops should withdraw, then the question is very simple. If Ukrainian troops withdraw 5-10 kilometers, for example, then why do Russian troops not withdraw deeper into the occupied territories by the same distance?”

 

Zelenskyy described the issue as “very sensitive” and insisted on a freeze along the line of contact, saying that “today a fair possible option is we stand where we stand.”

 

“I know that Russia does not have a positive attitude towards this, but I would like the Americans to support us on this issue,” the Ukrainian leader said.

 

Hans Von Der Burchard contributed reporting.