FLASH NEWS
NATO chiefs meet! They hold "open talks" about security guarantees for Ukraine
2025-08-20 21:46:13 / BOTA
NATO chiefs met on Wednesday to discuss options for providing security to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO's Military Committee, said 32 defense chiefs from across the alliance held a video conference as part of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.
He said a "large and open discussion" took place between them.
"I thanked everyone for their always proactive participation in these meetings: we are united, and this unity was truly clear today, as always," he wrote on the social network X, without giving further details.
Guaranteeing that Ukraine will not be invaded again in the future is one of the keys to convincing it to sign a peace agreement with Russia.
Ukraine is seeking Western assistance for its military, including weapons and training, to bolster its defenses, while Western officials are trying to determine what commitments they can offer.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized efforts to work on security guarantees for Ukraine without Moscow's involvement.
"We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve issues of collective security without the Russian Federation. This will not work," Lavrov said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.
US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, participated in the virtual talks, Dragone said.
Also, US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to attend, according to a US defense official.
Caine also met with European military chiefs Tuesday evening in Washington to assess the best military options for political leaders, according to the defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
US President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday, and on Monday hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House. Neither meeting produced any tangible progress.
Trump is trying to reconcile Putin and Zelensky for a peace deal, more than three years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, but there are major obstacles.
They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed guarantees of military protection, to ensure that Russia does not launch another invasion in the coming years.
"We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly stable and long-term peace," Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six Ukrainian regions overnight.
Kiev's European allies are looking at the possibility of creating a force that could back any peace deal, and a coalition of 30 states, including European countries, Japan and Australia, has pledged to support the initiative.
Military chiefs are considering how that security force could function.
The role the US could play remains unclear. Trump on Tuesday ruled out sending US troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia./Rel
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