The United States is seeking Russia’s acceptance of NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a proposed peace agreement to end the war, marking a significant diplomatic move in negotiations aimed at securing a settlement to the conflict.
American officials said Washington would formally ask Moscow whether it would accept security arrangements that could provide Ukraine with protections similar to those offered under NATO’s Article 4 and Article 5. The proposal is expected to be raised during two days of trilateral talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, beginning Tuesday.
The request represents the first time the Trump administration has formally approached Russia about accepting such guarantees, according to two senior US administration officials familiar with the negotiations.
“We’ve asked the Russians for us to be able to give an Article 4 and an Article 5-like security guarantee to Ukraine, along with NATO providing the same,” one senior American official said.
The proposal is intended to address Ukraine’s security concerns while exploring a framework for ending the war. However, significant questions remain over how such guarantees would operate, particularly because Ukraine is expected to remain outside NATO.
Under NATO’s Article 4, member states can request consultations when their security or territorial integrity is threatened. Article 5 establishes the alliance’s collective-defence principle, under which an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.
Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO’s history, following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. The provision subsequently formed the basis for allied military involvement in Afghanistan.
Extending comparable protections to Ukraine would require a clear understanding of the responsibilities of Washington and its European partners, particularly regarding the possibility of a future Russian attack.
It remains uncertain whether Russia would accept the arrangement. President Vladimir Putin has consistently opposed Ukraine’s potential NATO membership and demanded that Kyiv abandon its accession ambitions. Moscow has also called for strict limitations on Ukraine’s military capabilities and sought territorial concessions as part of any settlement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected key Russian demands, leaving territorial control and the future structure of Ukraine’s armed forces among the most difficult issues in the negotiations.
The Abu Dhabi meeting is particularly significant because it marks the first gathering of representatives from the three countries to discuss the war since February. The conflict continues to inflict heavy casualties, with Russian forces suffering substantial losses during repeated assaults against fortified Ukrainian positions.
Ukraine reported in October that more than 50,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in a four-week period. The figures could not be independently verified.
The Trump administration has also indicated that European countries should play a direct role in negotiations rather than leaving diplomatic engagement exclusively to Washington.
A senior US official said the administration had welcomed European participation and considered recent diplomatic contacts involving Putin, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre a constructive development.
“We do believe very strongly that at this point, in order to end the war, you really need to have Europe at the table,” the official said.
The phone call was reportedly coordinated with Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian official. However, some NATO members have expressed concern about being insufficiently consulted during Washington’s diplomatic engagement with Moscow.
European governments are increasingly seeking to establish their own channels of communication with the Russian president as discussions over the future of Ukraine intensify.
Joel Linnainmäki, a former Finnish official, said European leaders were entering a new diplomatic phase after opening direct communication channels with Putin.
“We are now in a new situation where European leaders have opened a direct channel with Putin and the previous policy of no-contact is coming to an end,” Linnainmäki said.
He added that European governments were no longer relying exclusively on US President Donald Trump and his representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to communicate with the Russian leadership. Further discussions between European leaders and Putin could follow.
The diplomatic initiative comes as Washington attempts to reconcile competing demands from Moscow and Kyiv while securing broader European support for a potential settlement.
For Ukraine, security guarantees are central to preventing another Russian invasion after any ceasefire or peace agreement. Kyiv has repeatedly argued that a settlement without credible international protections could leave the country vulnerable to renewed military action.
For Moscow, however, security arrangements involving the United States and NATO countries could raise concerns about an expanded Western military role in Ukraine, even if the country does not formally join the alliance.
The proposed guarantees therefore remain one of the most complicated elements of the emerging peace framework.
A senior Trump administration official said Monday that Washington was cautiously optimistic about the progress of negotiations. The official also suggested that further meetings involving Putin and Zelenskyy could take place if the discussions in Abu Dhabi produce sufficient progress.
