U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on Friday. (AP photo)

NEW YORK — Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-changing.”

“We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought.

It was expected to be a key topic Monday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House to discuss ending the 3 1/2-year conflict.

“BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,” Trump said in a social media post. “STAY TUNED!”

Hammering out a plan

Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against one or more member nations shall be considered an attack against them all.

What needed to be hammered out at this week’s talks were the contours of any security guarantees, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also participated in the summit. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the U.S. to provide that backstop in any peace agreement to deter future attacks by Moscow.

“How that’s constructed, what we call it, how it’s built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few days with our partners,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio said it would be “a huge concession.”

The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Before Sunday, U.S. officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success.

Witkoff also said Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not “go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.”

Europe applauds progress

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking to reporters in Brussels alongside Zelenskyy, applauded the news from the White House at a time when a European coalition is looking to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine.

“We welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the ‘coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share,” she said.

Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for recent signals that it was willing to support such guarantees but said much remained unclear.

Defending Trump shift

Witkoff and Rubio defended Trump’s decision to abandon a push for a ceasefire, arguing that the Republican president had pivoted toward a full peace agreement because so much progress had been made at the summit.

“We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,” Witkoff said, without elaborating. “We began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal.”

Rubio, who appeared on several TV news shows Sunday, said it would have been impossible to reach any truce Friday because Ukraine was not there.

“Now, ultimately, if there isn’t a peace agreement, if there isn’t an end of this war, the president’s been clear, there are going to be consequences,” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But we’re trying to avoid that.”

Land swaps on table

Among the issues expected to dominate today’s meeting: What concessions Zelenskyy might accept on territory?

In talks with European allies after the summit, Trump said Putin reiterated that he wants the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, European officials said. It was unclear among those briefed whether Trump sees that as acceptable.

Witkoff said the Russians have made clear they want territory as determined by legal boundaries instead of the front lines where territory has been seized.

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Associated Press writers John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.