India, Aug. 18 -- A weekend of diplomacy has injected new momentum into stalled efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Donald Trump's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff described agreements reached during Friday's Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin as 'game changing', particularly a pledge by Moscow to accept robust Western security guarantees for Ukraine.

Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that Putin had agreed to provisions resembling NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause under which the United States and Europe would commit to defending Ukraine against any future Russian invasion. He said the Russians also promised 'legislative enshrinement' of a commitment not to attack Ukraine or any other European nation.

"These are robust ...