Russian envoy says Russia has the right to receive same security guarantees from the West as Ukraine

Vienna, Aug 18 (IANS) The West should provide Russia with the same reliable security guarantees as it promised to Ukraine, Russia's Permanent Representative at International Organisations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Many EU leaders emphasise that the future peace agreement should provide reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia agrees with this. But it has every right to expect that Moscow will also receive effective security guarantees," his statement said on Sunday as quoted by Russian news agency Tass.

According to Ulyanov, the West is making a mistake by not starting to discuss such a step with respect to Russia.

The Permanent Representative stressed that these guarantees should be "much more reliable than the notorious promises" about NATO's non-expansion to the east, Tass reported.

Earlier, after a virtual meeting the "Coalition of the Willing" confirmed its readiness to send a multinational "reassurance force" to Ukraine as soon as the hostilities are ceased.

Members of the group of countries that intend to help Kyiv also highly appreciated President (Donald) Trump's commitment to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the "Coalition of the Willing" will play a vital role through a multinational force for Ukraine as part of other measures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to allow Ukraine's allies to offer it a NATO-like security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff said the Russian President agreed to the move when he met with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Witkoff, who was by the US President's side at the summit, said: "We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO."

His comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.

The Ukrainian President said in a post on X: "This is a historic decision that the US is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine."

"Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe's participation."

Von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference with the Ukrainian President, said the European Union "is ready to do its share".

Sunday afternoon also saw von der Leyen and Zelensky dial in to a meeting with the "Coalition of the Willing", a peacekeeping alliance of European leaders -- some of whom will accompany Zelensky to meet with Trump on Monday.

Von der Leyen will be at the crunch talks in Washington DC, as will Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be in attendance, after the US President reportedly extended an invitation to European leaders.

Putin has reportedly made demands to take control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine during his summit with Trump as a condition for ending the war.

In exchange, Russia would give up other Ukrainian territories held by its troops, according to several news reports citing sources close to the matter.

Russian troops currently occupy large parts of the two regions and, in September 2022, Moscow announced it was officially annexing them, alongside the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, in a move rejected and condemned as illegal by the West.

Trump is said to be planning to urge Zelensky to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war.

That's despite the Ukrainian President previously ruling out formally handing any territory to Moscow, which he says would be impossible under the country's Constitution, and would deprive Ukraine of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.

In coordinated statements following the Alaska summit, European leaders said Zelensky must play a greater role in future talks, and that peace cannot be achieved without him.

The US President said the Washington talk with Zelensky could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Putin.

--IANS

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