"Strongly support Ukraine's accession tothe European Union" is one of the bullet points under "This would include commitments to:"
"They reaffirmed that international borders must not be changed by force. Decisions on territoryare for the people of Ukraine..."
Russia told Trump that EU might be okay, but not NATO.
NATO was what Ukraine wanted most, for the security guarantees, but now the USA and the states on this letter, are offering guarantees, instead.
EU security forces as part of the security guarantees, not EU membership.
In the Politico article I posted last night, they claim
> “We believe the Russians, in a final deal, will accept all these things which allow for a strong and free Ukraine. Russia, in a final deal, has indicated they were open to Ukraine joining the EU,” a second U.S. official said.
But I don't have a line to the Russians, to confirm.
I'd imagine that would be contingent to annexation of the eastern territories with a corridor that connects Crimea to Russia and some buffer areas. I doubt they are willing to expand EU frontiers to a 1000km straight line through plains to Moscow.
I don't have a line to Moscow either, just a guess
Seems it’s just another way to say they’re letting Ukraine join NATO to me…
No, Article 5 is open-ended and universal. This is only about Russia and only particular countries.
Both sides currently seem to be cherry-picking bits of the territorial map, including particular power stations, mountains, rivers, harbors, road corridors, etc.
That is actually a hopeful sign. We'll see.
I'm not so optimistic. I think the ukrainians might be the only ones really looking at a map of Ukraine. The rest are looking at a map of the Black Sea and its territorial waters.
