Security Guarantees for Ukraine Ignite Dispute Between America and Europe

The U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance sparked widespread controversy among European leaders after proposing two controversial suggestions regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, amid complex negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to the Ukrainian newspaper "Zerkalo Nedeli" citing its sources.

According to the newspaper, Vance's first proposal was similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), where he suggested providing direct military assistance to Ukraine, which would not be limited to supplying weapons only, but would also include the deployment of U.S. military forces in the event Kyiv faced a new attack.

This proposal, sources say, led to a noticeable decline in the morale of the European leaders present, who were not prepared to engage at this level of military commitment.

The second proposal called for enhancing the capabilities of the Ukrainian army to reach between 350,000 and 400,000 soldiers, without the United States committing to funding this project.

Instead, Washington would continue to sell weapons to European countries, which would then transfer them to Ukraine.

However, this scenario was also met with widespread European discontent due to the high costs involved.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday evening, Vance confirmed that security guarantees for Ukraine represent one of the main points in the ongoing negotiations to end the war, alongside the issue of territories that Russia seeks to control, including lands that are still outside its control to this day.

Vance stated: "There are indeed two major questions still on the table: How do we ensure that Ukraine is not invaded again? And what about the areas that Russia wants to control?" He added that the negotiations seem simple on the surface, but are extremely complex in essence.

It is worth noting that Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory and demands the full annexation of the Donbas region, although it has not yet succeeded in completely ousting Ukrainian forces from it.

U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted on several occasions that any potential peace agreement could involve a land exchange between Moscow and Kyiv, a matter that Ukraine strongly rejects, affirming its commitment to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In this context, Vance revealed during the interview that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone several times, describing him as "calmer than what U.S. media portrays," and said: "Putin is very cautious and deliberate, contrary to what is rumored about him."

For his part, Trump continues to push for a settlement, having held a summit in Alaska with Putin last week, followed by a meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders, in an attempt to find common ground to end the war that has been ongoing for more than three years.

Vance believes that holding a direct meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents could be an important step towards reaching an agreement, stating: "This is the essence of negotiation - Ukrainians want security guarantees, and the Russians want to control specific territories."