Trump Offers Ukraine 15-Year Security Guarantee During Negotiations

United States President Donald Trump has offered Ukraine a 15-year security guarantee as part of a possible peace deal that he is working to broker between them and Russia.

Trump has affirmed that one of his strongest commitments during his second term is to end the war between Russia and Ukraine that is approaching a grim milestone: its fourth anniversary.

The US government has been working to negotiate a peace agreement between the two sides for months, but several key issues persist. Specifically, the problem of greatest salience is their dispute over territory and who would take control of eastern Ukraine. The area belonged to Ukraine prior to the war, but Russia now controls multiple provinces – known as oblasts – that have mixed opinions on which country they wish to be a part of.

Another issue is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is one of the top 10 largest nuclear plants in the world. Both countries wish to take control of the power plant, which is currently in a disputed region. Trump's initial peace plan proposed drawing the border line directly over the power plant, with electricity being distributed evenly to both countries, but ongoing negotiations could change that.

Now, Trump has added another aspect to the talks: security guarantees. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continually asserted his concerns over the country's security from future Russian invasions, which could still pose a threat if a peace deal is signed.

Yesterday, Zelenskyy announced that the US would offer them a 15-year security guarantee in addition to the other terms of the agreement, which could provide them with further motivation to finalize the deal. Trump backed up the statement later on by providing his own confirmation of the guarantee and proclaimed that they were "closer than ever before" to securing an agreement.

However, Zelenskyy responded with a request for 50 years of security guarantees– he confirmed that Trump was completely committed to providing a guarantee, but they are likely to hash out the exact details over the longevity of these guarantees in future meetings.

Trump also stated yesterday that his call with Putin had been very productive, but several key issues continued to serve as deal-breakers for Russia. He went on to say that negotiations remain shaky, but Trump has maintained confidence that he will eventually be able to bring peace to eastern Europe.

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