The special representative of the US President Stephen Witkoff issued a statement following a preliminary meeting of US, Ukrainian and European representatives, held on November 10, on the eve of the trilateral negotiations with Russia.
The main topic of the talks is the development of a "practical and mutually reinforcing security system" that should "strengthen the long-term defense of Ukraine" and create the confidence necessary for a peace settlement. The participants agreed that the post-war security architecture in Europe required updating.
According to Witkoff, any future agreement must include "strong security guarantees" for Ukraine as part of the arrangement. This wording sounds like a response to Kyiv's concerns about possible compromises.
Witkoff notes that a "strong NATO" will remain "the core element of the Euro-Atlantic collective defense," thus reassuring partners about the U.S. position on the alliance.
Vitkoff's statement demonstrates Washington's attempt to maintain the unity of the Western coalition ahead of the upcoming negotiations with Moscow, but the specific parameters of future guarantees to Ukraine are not revealed in the text.