Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.

Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."

Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.

Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.

German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.

"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.

He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees

China's consumption growth continues to show resilience, with millions of new restaurants opening last year, underscoring robust demand in the domestic catering sector, said Zhang Yichen, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Zhang, who is CEO of CITIC Capital and chairs the master franchise of McDonald's China, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that 3.5 million new restaurants opened across the country last year, including about 1,000 new McDonald's outlets annually.

At this year's "two sessions," Zhang urged policymakers to introduce measures that would encourage dine-in consumption, linking the restaurant boom to broader efforts to sustain domestic demand.

"This is the amazing resilience of the Chinese economy and Chinese enterprises overall. It's that you have another 3.5 million restaurants, new restaurants, opened," he said.

Zhang believes the key challenge now is reviving in-person dining and shopping to sustain long-term consumption growth.

"In the short term we're actually gaining from that. But in the long run, I believe overall the industry will suffer and the economy will suffer. That's why I brought up the issue and I'm so glad that the government is clearly agreeing with my views. The fact that we're (McDonald's China) opening 1000 restaurants a year and the fact that there are new restaurants still doing very well, it's a clear indication there is consumption power, you just have to find them," he said.

The "two sessions" are the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the CPPCC. Both bodies serve five-year terms and hold a plenary session each year.

The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC opened in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.

Zhang’s remarks underscore both the resilience of China's consumer market and the need for policies to secure sustained demand, a key focus of this year’s "two sessions."

CPPCC member seeks measures to boost dine-in consumption as China's demand stays resilient