US security agreement for Ukraine is '100% ready' to be signed,
Zelenskyy says
[January 26, 2026]
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that a U.S. security
guarantees document for Ukraine is “100% ready” after two days of talks
involving representatives from Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia.
Speaking to journalists in Vilnius during a visit to Lithuania,
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is waiting for its partners to set a signing
date, after which the document would go to the U.S. Congress and
Ukrainian parliament for ratification. |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press
conference with Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Polish
President Karol Nawrocki, at the Presidential palace in Vilnius,
Lithuania, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) |
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Zelenskyy also emphasized Ukraine’s push for European Union
membership by 2027, calling it an “economic security guarantee.”
The Ukrainian leader described the talks in Abu Dhabi, the
capital of the United Arab Emirates, as likely the first
trilateral format in “quite a long while” that included not only
diplomats but military representatives from all three sides. The
talks, which began on Friday and continued Saturday, were the
latest aiming to end Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale
invasion.
Zelenskyy acknowledged fundamental differences between Ukrainian
and Russian positions, reaffirming territorial issues as a major
sticking point.
“Our position regarding our territory — Ukraine’s territorial
integrity — must be respected,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement
with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and
Jared Kushner during marathon talks late Thursday. The Kremlin
insisted that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its
troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed
but has not fully captured.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. is trying to find a compromise, but that
“all sides must be ready for compromise.”
Negotiators will return to the UAE on Feb. 1 for the next round
of talks, according to a U.S. official. The recent talks covered
a broad range of military and economic matters and included the
possibility of a ceasefire before a deal, the official said.
There was not yet an agreement on a final framework for
oversight and operation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power
Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.
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