The US Congress must approve five documents of the peace plan: what it means
16 December 2025 09:57
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the US Congress is to vote on five key documents that are part of the future peace plan for Ukraine. Some of them relate to security guarantees, which should be legally binding and enshrined in American law. The head of state said this when answering questions from journalists after the talks in Berlin, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine is counting on a package of five documents to be adopted as part of agreements with the United States and European partners.
“It is important: we are counting on five documents. Some of them are about security guarantees. Legally binding, that is, voted on and approved by the Congress,” Zelenskyy said.
He explained that in this case, we are talking about a document that sets out conditions that are “mirrored” to NATO’s Article Five, which has already been agreed upon.
It is security guarantees that are of fundamental importance to Kyiv.
Why the US Congress needs to vote
The President emphasized that Ukraine insists not on declarations, but on legally binding decisions, i.e:
- voted on
- approved by the US Congress;
- are legally binding.
“Where there is a Fifth Amendment, like in NATO, that is, a mirror of the Fifth Amendment for everyone in the Alliance. And this will be voted by Congress, there are agreements on this, and this is very important,” Zelensky said.
the “mirror” of NATO’s Article Five: what it means
This is a document whose terms mirror NATO’s Article Five, which provides for collective defense in the event of an attack on one of the Alliance’s countries.
According to the President:
- “There is a preliminary agreement on such a mechanism;
- it should apply to Ukraine;
- the key confirmation will be the vote of the US Congress.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an armed attack on one of the members of the Alliance will be considered an attack on all of them. Since 1949, this unwavering commitment has bound a group of like-minded countries from Europe and North America who have pledged to defend each other in a spirit of solidarity.
Such assistance may or may not involve the use of armed forces and may include any measures that Allies deem appropriate to restore and maintain security in the North Atlantic area.
Article 5 of the NATO Treaty is in line with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes that a state which is the victim of an armed attack has the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense and may call upon others for assistance. In the context of NATO, Article 5 enshrines this right to self-defense in the form of an obligation to provide mutual assistance.
Zelenskyy: We are close to strong guarantees, but we believe the facts
The President emphasized that the Ukrainian side sees positive developments on paper, but assesses the situation pragmatically.
“We are people of war. Theoretically, we see good elements. But the facts are the vote in the United States Congress,” he noted.
According to him, the US-Ukrainian team is very close to strong security guarantees, but the final marker will be the US political decision.
Quick peace or quality peace: Ukraine’s position
Zelenskyy also commented on the timing of the end of the war:
- The US is interested in a quick result;
- for Ukraine, the main criterion is the quality of peace.
At the same time, the president noted that if the speed and quality coincide, Ukraine will support such a scenario.
When is a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump possible?
The President said that a meeting with Donald Trump is possible:
- after the next meeting of the Ukrainian and American delegations in the United States;
- when the documents are finalized or as close to finalization as possible.
“When we finalize the documents or get closer to the final version, we will meet,” Zelenskyy said.
What is known about the talks in Berlin
on December 14-15, consultations were held in Berlin with the participation of:
- president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- uS representatives (in particular, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner);
- key European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, Kier Starmer, Antonio Costa, and Ursula von der Leyen.
According to Western sources, consensus has been reached on about 90% of the points of the peace plan. The most difficult issue is the issue of territories
