Ukraine and U.S. Negotiators Discuss Ways to Advance Peace

Reuters

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, focusing on efforts to bring an end to the war with Russia.

President Zelenskiy said the discussions lasted around an hour and covered a range of issues related to advancing peace. Writing on the Telegram messaging app, he described the talks as constructive, citing detailed discussions and the emergence of new ideas concerning formats, meetings and potential timelines.

President Trump has been pressing for an agreement to end the nearly four-year-long conflict, and peace efforts led by Witkoff and Kushner have made gradual progress in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, President Zelenskiy presented a 20-point draft peace plan, which he described as the principal framework for ending the war. The proposal is a streamlined version of an earlier 28-point plan that the United States had previously discussed with Russia. That earlier draft was widely criticised for favouring Moscow, as it reportedly required Kyiv to cede territory and impose restrictions on its armed forces.

President Zelenskiy said that key territorial issues remain unresolved in the revised 20-point proposal, adding that a meeting with President Trump would be necessary to address the most sensitive matters.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow was reviewing documents related to ending the war that were delivered from the United States by Russia’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. 

President Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, was expected to hold another round of talks with U.S. negotiators later in the day.

“We are working around the clock to bring an end to this brutal Russian war against Ukraine and to ensure that all documents and steps are realistic, effective and reliable,” President Zelenskiy said.

Source: Reuters



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