Kiyv: In order to present the deal to the entire Western military alliance at a summit this week in Vilnius, Washington is reportedly rushing to reach an agreement with its most potent NATO allies, the UK, Germany, and France, on a set of security guarantees for Ukraine.

According to four unnamed officials with knowledge of the discussions, the group's power brokers have been in "frantic, last-minute" discussions to agree on a security declaration for Kiev, Politico reported on Sunday. Even though specifics of the security commitments may vary from nation to nation, the declaration would create a "umbrella" for all nations willing to offer military assistance to Ukraine.

According to Politico, the US, UK, France, and Germany have been speaking with Ukrainian leaders about the matter for weeks and have "reached out" to other allies within NATO, the EU, and the G7. In an effort to garner support from other summit participants, the four governments plan to present their framework agreement there. Tuesday is when the two-day event is supposed to start.

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Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has pushed NATO to expedite Kiev's application for membership, but numerous allies of the organisation have said Kiev cannot be admitted, at least until its conflict with Russia is resolved. German officials are reportedly hesitant to guarantee Ukraine's membership in the future out of concern that doing so might lead to a direct confrontation with Russia.

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US President Joe Biden recently told CNN that Washington is willing to provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to those it offers Israel in place of a commitment to join NATO.

At a meeting on Monday in London, the staffs of Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will attempt to "iron out last-minute details," according to Politico. In essence, the allies may commit to continuing to give Ukraine much of the assistance they have been giving since Russia started its offensive against Kiev in February 2022.

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According to a senior NATO diplomat, "it is essentially a guarantee towards Ukraine that we will - for a very long time to come - equip their armed forces, finance them, advise them, and train them in order for them to have a deterrent force against any future aggression." 

The prospects of Ukraine joining NATO have recently caused conflict among US lawmakers. Republicans in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate have argued that allowing Ukraine to join the alliance would reduce American safety because it could lead to a disastrous war with Russia.