MOSCOW/ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he asked US President Donald Trump during their talks on Sunday to consider providing Kyiv with security guarantees for a period of 30 to 50 years.

"I raised this issue with the president. I told him that we have been at war for almost 15 years,” said Zelensky on Monday, referring to Russia’s illegal 2014 seizure of Crimea, which some see as part of the conflict that began in February 2022, the start of the Ukraine war.

“So I would really like the security guarantees to be longer. And I told him that we would really like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years," Zelenskyy told journalists at a press briefing, according to state news agency Ukrinform.

Saying that such a decision by his US counterpart would be "historic," Zelenskyy said Trump told him that he would consider the proposal.

On Sunday, Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida to discuss the US plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, now nearing the four-year mark.

In his remarks to journalists, the Ukrainian president said that under the current agreements, Kyiv will receive security guarantees from the US for a period of 15 years, with the possibility of their extension.

He added that he believes the proposed security guarantees for Ukraine, on the part of both the US and Europe, can be effective if they are approved by Congress and the parliaments of his country's European partners.

He said Trump confirmed strong security guarantees for Ukraine during their meeting and assured they would be voted on and supported in Congress, indicating that he believes this is a very strong agreement.

Reconstruction, deployment of international forces

Zelenskyy also said he and Trump discussed an economic package for supporting Ukraine's post-war recovery, and that Kyiv expects the coalition of the willing will also provide both security guarantees and be present in his country's reconstruction.

The presence of international troops will bolster the security guarantees that Kyiv's partners are already offering to Ukraine, he added.

On the 20-point peace plan, Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian side believes the document should be ratified in a referendum, but said such a vote would require a ceasefire and noted Russia's opposition to this.

He said two issues in the 20-point plan remained unresolved, namely territories and the operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine seeks to host a meeting at the level of advisors "in the coming days" on the plan, followed by discussions of its details between Ukraine and European leaders, and then between European leaders and Trump.

"And after that, if everything goes step by step, there will be a meeting in one format or another with the Russians," he said.

On Ukraine’s ongoing martial law, Zelenskyy said it will end "at the moment when security guarantees appear" in the country.