VILNIUS, Lithuania — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that a US-Ukraine Security Agreement offering U.S. security guarantees was “100% ready” after two days of U.S.-mediated talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi. He said the document is intended to move toward ratification in Washington and Kyiv, Jan. 25, 2026.
Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, Zelenskyy said Kyiv is waiting for partners to confirm a time and place for signing before the US-Ukraine Security Agreement is sent to the U.S. Congress and Ukraine’s parliament. Reuters reported that Zelenskyy cast U.S. guarantees as central to any deal and said the text would go to lawmakers after it is signed.
US-Ukraine Security Agreement: what comes next
Zelenskyy framed the US-Ukraine Security Agreement as a bridge between cease-fire diplomacy and longer-term deterrence. He reiterated that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected,” signaling that Kyiv is not prepared to accept territorial concessions as the price of peace.
Abu Dhabi agenda: cease-fire terms and core disputes
The Abu Dhabi meetings — which Zelenskyy described as a rare “trilateral format” including military representatives as well as diplomats — ended without a peace deal. Still, officials said another round is expected Feb. 1 in the United Arab Emirates, according to The Associated Press. The AP also reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the war with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner before the Abu Dhabi talks.
U.S. officials have floated the possibility of a cease-fire before any broader political settlement, while Moscow has continued to press demands tied to territory and troop withdrawals. French daily Le Monde reported that the U.S.-brokered Abu Dhabi format is unprecedented and has revived questions about Europe’s place in the diplomacy.
Zelenskyy also renewed his push for European Union membership by 2027, calling it an “economic security guarantee” as Ukraine tries to protect investment and reconstruction plans. Al Jazeera highlighted the EU track alongside the security talks as Kyiv seeks multiple layers of long-term backing.
How the US-Ukraine Security Agreement fits a longer security-guarantees push
The new US-Ukraine Security Agreement would build on a campaign launched in mid-2023, when the G7 outlined a framework for long-term security commitments to Ukraine in a joint declaration during the Vilnius summit.
Ukraine later began signing bilateral accords with individual partners. Britain was first, sealing a 10-year pact in Kyiv in January 2024, Reuters reported at the time, and the United States followed with a 10-year agreement at the G7 in June 2024, according to Reuters. A Congressional Research Service summary later described the 2024 U.S.-Ukraine pact as an executive agreement.
What is new now is the explicit ratification path Zelenskyy described. His team is betting that formal votes — rather than political promises alone — would make any US-Ukraine Security Agreement more durable and, in Kyiv’s view, more credible as a deterrent if Russia threatens again.
For now, the US-Ukraine Security Agreement remains unsigned, and the Abu Dhabi channel remains fragile. Zelenskyy said the sides still hold “fundamentally different” positions, but he argued that narrowing the list of disputes is reason enough to keep talking.
