Zelenskiy says Ukraine ready to advance peace plan, will discuss disputed points with Trump
In a speech to what is known as the coalition of voluntary allies, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Zelenskiy called on European leaders to prepare a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to continue supporting Kiev unless Moscow shows an inclination to end the war.
According to the transcript, Zelenskiy said, “We firmly believe that security decisions regarding Ukraine should include Ukraine, and security decisions regarding Europe should include Europe… Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk that it will not work.” he said.
“This framework is on the table, and we are ready to move forward together with the United States, with President Trump’s personal involvement,” he added.
USA WILL MEET WITH PUTIN SEPARATELY IN UKRAINE
Later Tuesday, Trump said on social media that the negotiations had left “only a few sticking points.” He said he had instructed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll with Ukrainian officials at the same time. Trump did not provide details about the timing of the meetings.
“I look forward to meeting President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the agreement to end this War is FINAL or in its final stages,” he added. A Ukrainian diplomat has warned that territorial concessions remain a major sticking point, meaning a final agreement is far from certain despite agreements on several specific points. “These are really difficult questions for us,” the diplomat said. Underlining the great risks for Ukraine, its capital, Kiev, was bombarded with missiles and hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles overnight; Seven people died in this attack, and electricity and heating systems were again damaged. Local residents wore winter jackets and took shelter underground, some in tents.
ZELENSKIY MAY RETURN TO US
At an event held at the White House early Tuesday, Trump said he thought an agreement on Ukraine was close to being reached, saying, “We’ll get there.”
Kiev’s national security chief Rustam Umerov said early Tuesday that Zelenskiy could visit the United States in the next few days to reach an agreement with Trump, but there was no immediate confirmation of such a visit from the United States.
Kiev’s message hinted that the Trump administration’s intense diplomatic efforts may bear some fruit, but any optimism could be short-lived as Russia stressed it would not allow any deal to stray too far from its own maximum goals.
US and Ukrainian negotiators held talks in Geneva on Sunday on the latest US-backed peace plan. Driscoll later met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday, Driscoll’s spokesman said.
A Ukrainian official said Kiev “supports the essence of the framework and some of the most sensitive issues remain topics of discussion between the presidents.”
Oil prices continued their decline following news that Ukraine might agree on a deal to end the war.
ZELENSKIY: WE WILL DISCUSS SENSITIVE ISSUES WITH TRUMP
US policy towards the war has zigzagged in recent months.
A hastily arranged summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska in August raised concerns in Kiev and European capitals that the Trump administration might agree to many of Russia’s demands, but the meeting ultimately led to the United States putting more pressure on Russia. The 28-point plan, unveiled last week, caught the U.S. government, Kiev and many in Europe off guard and raised new concerns that the Trump administration might be willing to force Ukraine to sign a peace deal largely skewed toward Moscow.
The plan requires Kiev to hand over territory beyond the almost 20% of Ukraine that Russia has seized since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, as well as accept restrictions on its military and ban it from joining NATO, conditions that Kiev has long rejected as tantamount to surrender. The sudden crackdown increased pressure on Zelenskiy and Ukraine, which has been most vulnerable since the start of the war and where Russia has made gains on the battlefield, following a corruption scandal that resulted in the sacking of two of his ministers.
Zelenskiy may have a hard time getting Ukrainians to accept a deal seen as selling out their interests.
Zelenskiy said on Monday that the process of reaching a final agreement would be difficult. Russia’s incessant attacks on Ukraine have left many doubting how peace can be achieved anytime soon.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an amended peace plan should reflect the “spirit and letter” of the agreement reached between Putin and Trump at the Alaska summit.
“If the spirit and letter of Anchorage are erased in terms of the basic understandings that we have established, then of course it will be a fundamentally different situation (for Russia),” Lavrov warned.
