Russia seeks multilateral guarantees for Ukraine from major powers

Russia is proposing a multilateral framework to guarantee Ukraine’s security, insisting that any guarantees be provided by a group that includes United Nations Security Council members and potentially other influential powers, while Kyiv and Western capitals weigh the implications for Ukraine’s sovereignty and its path toward any peace settlement. In recent public remarks, Moscow suggested that real security assurances for Ukraine should be based on a 2022 draft agreement that linked Kyiv’s neutrality with guaranteed external security, but Kyiv rejected that framework at the time because it would effectively give Moscow a veto over outside military support. Russia also described China as a potential participant in such guarantees, arguing for equal involvement by major powers, including the United States, Britain and France, in a package that would bind Kyiv to a neutral, nonnuclear status.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaled that Moscow would welcome China as part of a broader guarantor group, and Beijing has reiterated its call for fair and objective peace talks. Lavrov told state media that “security guarantees for Ukraine be provided on an equal basis with the...