Rubio: Security Guarantees for Ukraine Must Be Acceptable to Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that post-war security guarantees for Ukraine must be acceptable to Russia as well, or they will not be able to work. His remarks were given to DRM News and cited by the agency Interfax-Ukraine. The question matters because such guarantees are seen as central to Kyiv agreeing to any terms for ending Russia's war.

Rubio stressed that Ukraine needs to feel safe after the war. In his words, the arrangement should be something Russia also signs up to. Security guarantees will be decisive in allowing Ukraine to agree to anything, he said, but they must also be acceptable to Moscow.

No final plan yet

Asked whether Kyiv could receive guarantees modelled on Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty (the North Atlantic alliance's consultation and collective defence provisions), Rubio pointed out that no plan has been finally approved. Various concepts for a post-war security architecture are currently under discussion, and they will be a key element in bringing the war to a definitive end.

On the prospect of enshrining such arrangements in an international treaty, the secretary of state allowed that this was possible, but noted that ratifying agreements requires complex procedures.

Background

On 4 November, consultations were held at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels with representatives of Ukraine, the US, the UK, France, Germany, NATO, the World Bank and the European Commission. They were devoted to preparing Ukraine's Prosperity Plan, which is meant to define post-war reconstruction mechanisms and the financing of Ukraine in 2027.

The meetings come ahead of trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia on 10–11 November in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which will focus on further steps toward peace. On 5 November, representatives of NATO, the US, Ukraine, European states and the European Union also met in Brussels, aiming to promote a just and lasting end to the war.