NATO’s Rutte outlines two layers of security guarantees for Ukraine in Kyiv

They’ve made the announcements during a joint press conference in Kyiv.

"When we talk about security guarantees, let's also agree that there are two layers. Layer number one will be after a peace deal/a long-term ceasefire, or a combination of the two. The first layer has to be for the Ukrainian armed forces to be as strong as possible to defend this proud country and nation going forward. And the second layer has to be the security guarantees provided by Europe and the United States," Rutte explained.

The Secretary General stressed that security guarantees must be effective, unlike the Budapest Memorandum or the Minsk agreements.

“And we are now working together: Ukraine, the Europeans, the United States, to make sure that the security guarantees are of such a level that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, sitting in Moscow, will never ever try to attack Ukraine again,” he said.

At the same time, President Zelenskyy noted that it is too early to specify which countries will provide military security guarantees, adding that this will become clear only once the full infrastructure of the guarantees is finalized.

“It is too early to say who can provide their military, who can provide intelligence, who is present at sea, who is present in the sky, and who is ready to finance... who, due to their constitution, cannot be present in one form or another, but is ready to finance,” he explained.

However, the president added that Turkey is ready to become a guarantor of security at sea.

“They said: ‘We want to be part of the security guarantee for Ukraine in terms of the sea. We are professional, we know how to help in the Black Sea, we will look at this specifically. Our presence there will be complete,’” Zelenskyy said.

• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on August 22, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.