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McCaul: Ukraine Should Refuse Trump’s 28-Point Peace Plan Without 'Ironclad' Security Guarantees

04:41 AM, 11/24/2025

Rep. Michael McCaul warned that Ukraine should not sign President Trump's 28-point peace plan without a written, 'ironclad' security agreement. He cited the 1994 Budapest case, when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons and later faced Russian aggression without formal guarantees. McCaul criticized the Witkoff-negotiated proposal for lacking concrete, enforceable protections and called for a separate, Article 5–style pact drafted outside that framework. He urged Kyiv to hold out for legally binding assurances before accepting any deal.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned that Ukraine should not sign President Trump's 28-point peace plan unless it is accompanied by a written, 'ironclad' security agreement.

Speaking on ABC's 'This Week,' McCaul said he is unsure whether either side will accept the proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but he urged the White House to avoid a repeat of the 1994 Budapest experience, when Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal without formal, written guarantees and later faced Russian aggression.

'In 1994, Budapest, Ukraine gave up all its nuclear weapons. In exchange for what? For nothing. And then Russia invaded,' McCaul said. 'There was no security agreement. There were just simply assurances given by Bill Clinton. That cannot happen again.'

McCaul said the plan worked out by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff does not appear to spell out the concrete, enforceable security guarantees Ukraine would receive — a deficiency critics say could make the proposal overly favorable to Russia. He said a separate, legally binding security pact, developed outside the Witkoff framework and associated with Keith Kellogg, should be 'Article 5-like' so that violations trigger collective responses.

'Without that, I would not advise Ukraine to sign this,' McCaul added. 'They can't sign an agreement like the Budapest and then allow Russia to invade again.'

The 28-point plan includes a provision stating that 'Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees.' McCaul urged Kyiv to insist those guarantees be unambiguous and enforceable in writing before agreeing to any settlement.

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McCaul: Ukraine Should Refuse Trump’s 28-Point Peace Plan Without 'Ironclad' Security Guarantees - CRBC News