Russia-Ukraine War : Zelensky is to meet with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to address territorial problems, the major stumbling block in peace talks, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee agreement reach completion.
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Zelensky announced the meeting, saying “a lot can be decided before the New Year,” as Washington pushes for an end to Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two.
A security assurance deal between Ukraine and the US is “almost ready,” with the 20-point plan roughly 90% complete, Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp discussion.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said in a Friday interview with Politico. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
According to Zelensky, the US offered a 15-year pact with security guarantees that could be renewed, while Kyiv preferred a longer term.
Ukraine, wary of previous failed pledges from partners, is looking for strong and legally binding agreements to deter additional Russian aggression.
Zelensky stated that his meeting with Trump was to “refine things” in the drafts and to discuss prospective economic partnerships for Ukraine.
He went on to explain that he wasn’t sure if a deal would be signed during his visit, but Ukraine was open to it.
Trump expressed confidence that the meeting will go well, and that he anticipated to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon, as much as I want.”
Sensitive land issues
Territorial disputes continue to impede progress in negotiations.
“As for sensitive subjects, we will tackle both Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility. “We will certainly discuss other issues,” Zelensky stated as he presented the meeting agenda.
Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from areas of the eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have failed to capture during nearly four years of conflict, as it pursues complete control of the Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Kyiv wants the combat to stop at the current lines.
In an effort to reach a solution, the United States suggested a free economic zone if Ukraine left sections of the Donetsk region. The proposal provided little information on how the zone would function.
According to Axios, Zelensky stated that if he is unable to persuade the US to support Ukraine’s “strong” position on the land problem, he is willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum – as long as Russia commits to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and conduct the poll.
Trump, who has voiced impatience with the slow pace of development in the negotiations, has stated that he would meet with Zelensky if he believed a major diplomatic breakthrough was likely.
According to Zelensky, European leaders may participate in the negotiations online.
On Friday, he addressed preparations for the Sunday summit as well as progress in conversations with some European leaders, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who is considered friendly to Trump.
Russian Stance
According to Interfax-Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that Kyiv’s version of the 20-point plan differed significantly from what Russia had discussed with the US.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, met with representatives of the Trump administration after Moscow received US suggestions for a potential peace treaty, the Kremlin said on Friday. It didn’t say how Moscow evaluated the documents.
According to Russia’s Kommersant daily, Putin informed some of Russia’s top industrialists that he was willing to swap some area controlled by Russian forces elsewhere in Ukraine in exchange for the entire Donbas region.
Even as the talks continued, Russia continued to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and intensified attacks on the southern province of Odesa, which houses Ukraine’s important seaports. Two persons were killed in a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday.
Zelensky stated that he intended to discuss with Trump the question of putting extra pressure on Russia.
