In exchange for remaining neutral, Ukraine is requesting security guarantees that include military assistance in case of future conflict from the world's "leading armies," including countries with nuclear weapons, Fox News reports.
The request came during peace negotiations being held in Turkey.
"The Treaty on Security Guarantees essentially assumes, not in theory, but in practice, to obtain an effective instrument for protecting our territory and sovereignty," said Myhailo Podolyuak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"The guarantor countries become, so to speak, the leading armies of the world, including those with a nuclear component, which take on specific legal obligations — to intervene in any conflict on the territory of Ukraine, to immediately supply weapons."
Ukraine said it would remain militarily neutral, but also wants "mandatory entry into the single market of the European Union as a full-fledged member."
Podolyuak said NATO countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey and Germany should sign such a treaty, saying their backing would help "avoid the traditional Russian nonbinding nature of legal treaties."
Though Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet Zelenskyy to sign a treaty once one has been hammered out, Ukraine's demands could stymie progress, former Defense Intelligence Agency agent Rebekah Koffler said.
The security guarantees Ukraine is seeking "basically amount to NATO membership," Koffler told Fox News, making an actual agreement "unachievable."
"The Russians are not going to go for that, because the whole point of this conflict is to prevent Ukraine from becoming a NATO member," Koffler said, pointing out that NATO membership for Ukraine is seen by Russia as an "existential threat" to its security.
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