Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday said negotiators discussing a US-brokered peace initiative remain divided over territory as US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment in Kyiv’s handling of the deal.
Elements of the plan require further discussion on a number of “sensitive issues,” including security guarantees for the war-battered nation and control over eastern regions, Zelenskiy said, adding that the talks have yet to reach an agreement on Ukraine’s Donbas, including the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine — and we don’t have a unified view on Donbas,” he said.
Photo: AP
Kyiv is pushing for a separate agreement on security guarantees from Western allies, above all the US, he added.
Zelenskiy spoke hours after Trump criticized him — in contrast with comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the proposal — saying he was “a little bit disappointed” in the Ukrainian leader, who he said has not yet read the proposal.
Moscow, on the other hand, was “fine with it,” Trump said.
Zelenskiy said he wants to know what Western allies were prepared to offer, with negotiators working on a separate accord involving the guarantees.
“There is one question I — and all Ukrainians — want to get an answer to: If Russia again starts a war, what will our partners do,” he said.
Zelenskiy yesterday arrived in London, where he was due to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the US proposal.
While an initial 28-point draft, which appeared favorable to Russia, gave way to a 20-point framework document, there remains little clarity on how Moscow would be deterred from another attack.
Elements of the US plan also include Ukraine’s perspective to join the EU and tapping immobilized Russian central bank assets.
“We are talking to the US — it is constructive work,” Zelenskiy said. “But there are questions that concern Europe — and we cannot decide for Europe. We need to discuss with Europe Ukraine’s membership in the EU, which is also part of security guarantees.”
Zelenskiy was to travel to Brussels for talks later yesterday, and to Rome for a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today.
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