MADRID, 18 (EUROPA PRESS)
Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, has argued that his country "has the same right" as Ukraine to obtain "effective" security guarantees, in response to statements made this Sunday by European Union leaders who assured them they were "ready to do their part" following the United States' announcement of a pact with Moscow under which kyiv would receive protection similar to NATO's Article 5 in the event of a hypothetical peace agreement between the two neighboring countries.
"Many EU leaders emphasize that a future peace agreement should provide reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia agrees. But it has the same right to expect Moscow to also obtain effective security guarantees," he wrote on his X social media account.
In the same message, the ambassador wondered "what the West is offering" in exchange for these security guarantees for kyiv, criticizing them for "not even beginning to consider it." "This is a mistake that must be corrected. Russia will help in this regard during the negotiations," he asserted, before emphasizing that "these security guarantees must be much more reliable than the famous 1990 promises that 'NATO would not move one iota eastward.'"
Later, Ulianov celebrated on the same platform that, during the summit that brought together the head of the White House, Donald Trump, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska last Friday, Washington and Moscow "have agreed to concentrate their efforts on (...) the need to quickly develop an effective long-term peace agreement, not a questionable ceasefire that diverts attention from the main objective mentioned above."
These words from the Russian representative came after White House special envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Sunday that he had reached an agreement with the Kremlin to provide "robust security guarantees" to Ukraine in the event of a hypothetical peace agreement with Moscow, and that the country would be granted a protected status very similar to what it would receive if it were a NATO member.
Furthermore, in statements to CNN, Witkoff confirmed that he had obtained from Russia a guarantee of "legislative endorsement in the Russian Federation" of "not attacking any other territory when the peace agreement is codified, and legislative endorsement in the Russian Federation of not attacking any other country."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the announcement during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, noting that the so-called "coalition of the willing," the group of countries committed to launching a peacekeeping mission for Ukraine, "including the European Union, are ready to do their part."
Zelensky will travel to Washington, D.C., flanked by von der Leyen and the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Finland, plus NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, for Trump to explain in detail the conclusions of his Friday summit with the Russian president.
