The U.S. has proposed security guarantees for Ukraine similar to — but separate from — the collective defense agreement between NATO member countries, Italy's premier and a diplomatic source said on Saturday.
The suggestion was raised during a call U.S. President Donald Trump held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Saturday, the day after Trump's summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"As one of the security guarantees for Ukraine, the American side proposed a non-NATO Article 5 type guarantee, supposedly agreed with Putin," the diplomatic source told AFP on condition they not be identified in any way.
NATO's collective security is based on its Article 5 principle: if one member is attacked, the entire alliance comes to its defense.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was on the call with Trump, confirmed the U.S. president had raised the idea of security guarantee "inspired" by Article 5, which she has been pushing for several months.
The starting point for the proposal was defining a collective security clause "that would allow Ukraine to benefit from the support of all its partners, including the U.S., [which would be] ready to act in case it is attacked again," Meloni said in a statement.
In March, Meloni told Italian senators that any such response would not necessarily involve going to war.
She noted that, while NATO's Article 5 has the use of force as an option, "it is not the only possible option."
Kyiv has long aspired to join NATO — but Russia has given that as one of its reasons for its war in Ukraine, and some Western circles have expressed resistance to the idea.
Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukraine joining the Western military alliance.
Before his joint call with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump spoke just with the Ukrainian president about Friday's Alaska summit.
"The American side voiced this [joint security proposal] during a conversation with the president [Zelensky] and then repeated it during a joint conversation with the Europeans," the diplomatic source said.
Another source with knowledge of the matter confirmed the NATO-like guarantees had been discussed.
But that source added: "No one knows how this could work and why Putin would agree to it if he is categorically against NATO and obviously against really effective guarantees of Ukraine's sovereignty."
Meloni's statement made no mention of whether the idea had been discussed with Putin.
Zelensky is due in Washington on Monday for talks with Trump.
The second source told AFP that Zelensky is to discuss what form a possible Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit would have, the role of Kyiv's European allies in peace talks, territories and security guarantees.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
