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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed progress with US negotiators after two days of talks in Berlin as European leaders committed to come to Kyiv’s aid in a future attack by Russia to end a cycle of aggression extending more than a decade.
Still, questions remain over territories and detailed functioning on how the guarantees, particularly those provided by the US, would work. Europeans also welcomed the outcome of the meetings in which they listed assistance measures going from “armed force, intelligence and logistical assistance, economic and diplomatic actions.”
In a joint statement released on Monday after high-level talks in Berlin, European leaders provided their most detailed outline yet of the security guarantees they are willing to provide to Ukraine. These are include:
- “Sustained and significant support” for Ukraine’s armed forces, which should remain capped at 800,000 troops during peacetime.
- A European-led “multinational force” operating on Ukrainian soil, following the work of the “Coalition of the Willing” led by France and the United Kingdom.
- A United States-led mechanism to monitor and verify a ceasefire.
- A “legally binding commitment” to restore peace in case of a future armed attack by Russia
- Investment in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, while firmly keeping the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised.
- Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
The statement was signed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
It was also signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa and left open for other countries to endorse.
“In any deal, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and that all parties must work intensively towards a solution that could assure a lasting end to the fighting,” they said.
The two-day Berlin meeting was also attended US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump.
They participated in bilateral talks with Ukraine on Sunday.
European leaders joined on the second day of talks on Monday.
Speaking next to Merz, Zelenskyy said “progress has been made on many issues” during the discussions, but admitted that the issue of occupied territories was “a painful one”.
“Of course, we have different positions with Russia on the territories,” he said. “I have a deep understanding of the details of this war and it is very important that our colleagues from the United States heard all these details.”
In their joint statement, European leaders stressed that any decision on territory should be made by the Ukrainian people “once robust security guarantees are effectively in place” and promised to support Zelenskyy if he chooses to hold a referendum.
“International borders must not be changed by force,” the leaders said.
Europeans then urged Russia to “show willingness to work towards a lasting peace” by agreeing to the peace plan promoted by the White House and establishing a ceasefire, a key step that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly refused to take.
A source close to the negotiations in Berlin hailed progress in US participation for the security guarantees, given the country’s military capabilities and intelligence gathering, which Europeans are not yet able to match.
“The US will be the backstop and provide intelligence, air support capabilities that nobody else can,” the source told Euronews, noting the main centre of operations will be the Ukrainian army backed by the multinational force of the “Coalition of the Willing”.
“Each nation will speak to what they’ll do in Ukraine as part of this, but it’s expected to be multi-domain: land, sea, air, cyber and space.”
The diplomatic breakthrough in Berlin comes days before EU leaders are set to gather in a crucial summit in Brussels to decide how to raise €90 billion to finance Ukraine’s budgetary and military needs for 2026 and 2027.
The main proposal on the table is a zero-interest reparations loan based on the immobilised assets of the Russian Central Bank, which has met with the opposition of Belgium, the prime custodian of the funds, and reservations from Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and the Czech Republic, casting doubt over its approval.
“I understand the concerns. I don’t share the concerns,” Merz said on Monday. “But I very much hope that Belgium, the country most impacted by this decision, will take a step in the right direction with us. It’s expedient to support Ukraine.”
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