Sun Aug 17 14:29:30 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and a news article rewrite based on the provided text:
**Summary:**
Following a summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, significant progress has been reported regarding potential security guarantees for Ukraine. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee similar to NATO’s Article 5. While Ukrainian President Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the U.S. willingness to support such guarantees, he emphasized the lack of concrete details. The agreement also reportedly includes a Russian legislative commitment to cease further territorial expansion in Ukraine. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that significant disagreements remain and a peace agreement is not imminent, implying potential consequences if a peace deal is not reached.
**News Article:**
**From Alaska to Kyiv: U.S. and Russia Edge Closer to Ukraine Security Deal**
*New York, August 17, 2025* – A potential breakthrough in the three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine conflict emerged following a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. According to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Putin has agreed to allow the United States and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense pact (Article 5).
“We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the Coalition of the willing.
The proposed deal, if finalized, could be a major step towards resolving the conflict. In addition to security guarantees, Russia would reportedly make a legislative commitment not to pursue further territorial gains in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the U.S. support but stressed the need for clarity on the specifics. “It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. “But there are no details how it will work, and what America’s role will be, Europe’s role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.”
Despite the positive signals, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged caution, emphasizing that significant disagreements persist. “We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remain some big areas of disagreement. So we’re still a long ways off,” Rubio stated.
Rubio warned that President Trump has threatened “additional consequences if no peace agreement is made.”
The potential deal remains complex and requires further negotiation, but the willingness of both the U.S. and Russia to consider security guarantees for Ukraine represents a significant development in the ongoing crisis.
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