ROME, August 27. /TASS/. Kiev’s Western allies are discussing security guarantees for Ukraine that resemble NATO Article 5, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
"Italy has always maintained that peace hinges on reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. This was established at the recent meeting in Washington between the Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. Italy’s suggestion of a mechanism inspired by NATO Article 5 (on collective defense - TASS) is now the main one being discussed," she said at a forum in Rimini.
On August 19, two meetings on Ukraine took place: a teleconference of the leaders of the so-called "coalition of the willing" and an online EU summit. Both events discussed the results of the Russia-US summit in Alaska, US President Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Zelensky and a number of European leaders, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine after the end of hostilities. Earlier, in response to reporters' questions, Trump said that the specifics of security guarantees for Ukraine had not yet been discussed, noting that European countries would have to make significant commitments.
In addition to Italy’s proposal, the West is considering deploying military contingents to monitor compliance with the ceasefire. This is the initiative of the "coalition of the willing" headed by the UK and France.
The Financial Times reported, citing European and Ukrainian officials, that the Western countries have drawn up a preliminary conflict settlement plan which entails creating a demilitarized zone that could be patrolled by neutral peacekeeping forces, coordinated with Russia and Ukraine. According to the West's plan, the Ukrainian troops supplied with NATO weapons and NATO military instructors would be positioned behind that line. However, the newspaper pointed out that, even with US participation in providing security guarantees, many European politicians are reluctant to deploy troops to Ukraine due to the risk of a future full-scale conflict. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that the U. has suggested deploying military jets to Ukraine and providing Kiev with intelligence when the conflict is over.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia would find it unacceptable for foreign military intervention to occur in any part of Ukraine.