Zelenskyy to negotiate with Trump over US-Russia peace deal requiring painful concessions | Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will negotiate with Donald Trump on a US-backed peace plan that calls on Kiev to make painful concessions to end the Kremlin’s occupation of his country.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy’s office confirmed that it had received the draft peace plan prepared by US and Russian officials and that he would meet with Trump in the coming days about “available diplomatic opportunities and the main points needed for peace.”
In the statement made by Zelenskyy’s office, it was said, “We agreed to work on the items of the plan to bring a worthy end to the war.”
The cautious reaction of the Ukrainian presidential administration came after some Ukrainian officials angrily condemned the plan, calling it “absurd” and unacceptable. Zelenskyy’s press statement came during a meeting with a high-level US military delegation on Thursday.
Other officials in Kiev said the proposal, drawn up by Vladimir Putin’s close ally Kirill Dmitriev and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, was a “provocation” whose aim was to provoke division and “surprise” Ukraine’s allies. they added.
“There are currently no signs that the Kremlin is ready for serious negotiations. Putin is trying to stall for time and avoid US sanctions.” said Oleksandr MerezhkoChairman of Ukraine’s foreign policy parliamentary committee. He called Dmitriev a “nobody”.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya described the initiative as unrealistic. He claimed that this was a classic Soviet-style information operation to influence public opinion and create panic.
According to media reports, the sweeping 28-point proposal is very similar to the demands Moscow made immediately after its large-scale invasion in early 2022. The proposal was reportedly prepared by Russian and US officials with the support of Donald Trump. Kiev was not consulted. A European diplomat said they only became aware of the plan when they turned on the news.
It is envisaged that Ukraine will cede the north of the Donbas region under its control to Russia and its army will be halved. Ukraine will also have to give up long-range weapons used to hit military targets inside Russia.
No foreign troops will be allowed to enter Ukrainian territory, a condition that rules out the possibility of a post-deal establishment of a peacekeeping force led by Britain and France. However, the US will provide unspecified security guarantees. According to Axios.
The Russian language and the Russian Orthodox church will be given official status, in line with the Kremlin’s long-standing demands.
Ukrainian officials said the document amounted to Ukraine’s surrender and a de facto end to its sovereignty. This comes nearly four years after Russian troops tried and failed to capture Kiev and the Trump administration’s efforts to end the conflict faltered.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy met with US military secretary Dan Driscoll, whom Trump named a “special envoy” last week. Driscoll is on a fact-finding mission to Kiev with a briefing to examine the war and drone production in Ukraine. It is unclear whether the talks included the draft US plan.
Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has reportedly announced his resignation, saying he will leave in January after serving one year. Kellogg is thought to be generally sympathetic to Ukraine and has thus been left out of direct US-Russia talks.
The White House’s new effort to force Ukraine to make significant concessions in the pursuit of “peace” comes at a difficult time for Zelenskyy, who has been embroiled in the biggest political scandal since becoming president in 2019.
Former business partner Timur Mindich and at least two government ministers are accused of participating in a large-scale bribery scheme. Several lawmakers from Zelenskyy’s own Servant of the People party called on the president to fire his powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
A Western diplomat said the Russians were trying to take advantage of Ukraine’s internal crisis. “Apparently, Dmitriev made this plan at a time when Zelenskyy was weak. Russians are good at exploiting events,” they said. “This is like every other Russian plan. I don’t think this will work with Ukraine.”
The diplomat said the Kremlin’s demands for the Russian language were a “hook” that could be exploited later. They added that the offer did not offer the kind of security assurances that Ukraine would need from the United States and its European allies to abide by any agreement.
European leaders meeting in Brussels said they were not warned in advance about the White House’s latest initiative. The Trump administration is no longer providing direct military aid to Kiev, reducing its ability to impose a Moscow-friendly peace deal on Ukraine, a source said.
Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said: “We appreciate the peace efforts, but Europe is the main supporter of Ukraine and what is at stake is, of course, the security of Europe. Therefore, we expect to be consulted.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe welcomed any effort to reach a long-lasting and fair solution to the war, but stressed: “Any plan needs Ukrainians and Europeans to work.”
Kallas said the Dmitriev-Witkoff proposal does not envisage Russia making concessions. “We need to understand that there is an aggressor and a victim in this war. If Russia really wanted peace, it could have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire some time ago.”
The British government said it supported Trump’s desire to “end this barbaric war”. However, he emphasized that “only the Ukrainian people can determine their future” and said Russia could end the conflict tomorrow by withdrawing its troops and ending its “illegal occupation”.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller declined to comment on the peace plan. “I agree that this is an issue that the President continues to put at the forefront of our foreign policy goal, which is to achieve a resolution in the Ukraine-Russia war so we can have peace in Europe and put an end to the murder and slaughter of so many innocents,” he said.
US efforts to broker peace have faced obstacles since Trump He met with Putin in Alaska in August. Then the US president imposed Sanctions on Russia’s oil industryA clear attempt to push Putin to the negotiating table.
Trump said last month: put your plan on hold He wanted to go to a meeting with the Russian President in Budapest because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” On Wednesday, Zelenskyy and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara and said they were determined to find a peaceful solution.
In recent months, Russia has stepped up its systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging large parts of the country into darkness. On Wednesday it bombed several western cities, including Ternopil; 26 people, including three children, were killed in their homes here.
