Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.

"We are seeing accommodation more than we've seen in the past, certainly more than we saw in the last administration," Witkoff said. "And that's encouraging. Now we have to build on that."

The US president said a peace agreement would be better than a "mere" ceasefire, hours after summit with Putin that produced little.

President Trump offered security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression. But the offer was vague, prompting Kyiv to seek clarity.

President Donald Trump supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin's proposal for Moscow to take full control of the Donbas and freeze the front lines elsewhere for a deal with Ukraine.

Zelensky has rejected Russian demands to cede Ukrainian land. The Ukrainian leader and his European partners, including the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, had lobbied the White House for weeks to demand that Moscow agree to a ceasefire before any negotiations.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin head to Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit as the U.S. seeks a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.One key party who will not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage,

By Andrea Shalal, Thomas Escritt and Tom Balmforth WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Russia's Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine but also said on Wednesday that a meeting between them could swiftly be followed by a second that would include the leader of Ukraine.