US Offers Ukraine 15-Year Sec 12/29 06:32

   The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 
years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
said Monday.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- The United States is offering Ukraine security 
guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, though he said he would prefer an 
American commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to 
seize its neighbor's land by force.

   U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday 
and insisted that Ukraine and Russia are "closer than ever before" to a peace 
settlement.

   Negotiators are still searching for a breakthrough on key issues, however, 
including whose forces withdraw from where and the fate of the Russian-occupied 
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the 10 biggest in the world. Trump 
noted that the monthslong U.S.-led negotiations could still collapse.

   "Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end," 
Zelenskyy told reporters in voice messages responding to questions sent via a 
Whatsapp chat.

   Ukraine has been fighting Russia since 2014, when it illegally annexed 
Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists took up arms in the Donbas, a vital 
industrial region in eastern Ukraine.

   Details of the security guarantees have not become public but Zelenskyy said 
Monday that they include how a peace deal would be monitored as well as the 
"presence" of partners. He didn't elaborate, but Russia has said it won't 
accept the deployment in Ukraine of troops from NATO countries.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russian President Vladimir 
Putin and Trump were expected to speak in the near future but there was no 
indication the Russian leader would speak to Zelenskyy.

   French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv's allies will meet in Paris in 
early January to "finalize each country's concrete contributions" to the 
security guarantees.

   Trump said he would consider extending U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine 
beyond 15 years, according to Zelenskyy. The guarantees would be approved by 
the U.S. Congress as well as by parliaments in other countries involved in 
overseeing any settlement, he said.

   Zelenskyy said he wants the 20-point peace plan under discussion to be 
approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum.

   However, holding a ballot requires a ceasefire of at least 60 days, and 
Moscow has shown no willingness for a truce without a full settlement.