Rep. Michael McCaul on Sunday said he would urge Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign President Donald Trump’s proposed peace agreement with Russia unless it includes firm and enforceable security guarantees, warning that Kyiv cannot risk a repeat of the failed Budapest Memorandum.
The draft plan, crafted by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff with input from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presented to Kyiv on Thursday, leaves Ukraine vulnerable unless the White House strengthens the security framework attached to it, the Texas Republican said on ABC News' "This Week."
"Without that, I would not advise Ukraine to sign this. They can’t sign an agreement like Budapest and then allow Russia to invade again," McCaul told co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
He noted that in 1994, Ukraine gave up all its nuclear weapons through the Budapest agreement, and "in exchange for what?"
"For nothing, and then Russia invaded," the congressman said. "There was no security agreement. There were just simple assurances given by Bill Clinton. That cannot happen again."
The proposal, developed in coordination with Moscow, includes concessions widely viewed as favoring Russia, such as capping Ukraine’s military at 600,000 personnel, permanently barring Ukraine from joining NATO, and requiring Kyiv to relinquish territory in the east, including some areas not currently under Russian control.
The terms have sparked alarms among Ukrainian officials and European allies who fear the plan amounts to a forced capitulation.
Peace talks continue on Sunday in Geneva, where American officials are meeting with a Ukrainian delegation.
Trump has publicly complained that Ukraine has shown "zero gratitude" for U.S. efforts to mediate an end to the nearly four-year war.
His 28-point proposal also sets a Thursday deadline for Zelenskyy to respond or risk losing American support, a condition McCaul said should not be treated as a rigid ultimatum.
"I think there’s flexibility," McCaul said. "Rubio said within the next 72 hours we’ll know a great deal about whether this goes forward or not."
McCaul said he told the White House the security provisions must be strengthened to resemble something closer to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
He noted that retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg has been involved in drafting a parallel security agreement outside the Witkoff-Russia framework.
"This is where Keith Kellogg did get involved to write a security agreement, which I hope is more ironclad, like an Article 5-like agreement," McCaul said. "For without that, I would not advise Ukraine to sign this."
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