Where do the Ukrainian peace talks stand, and what does each side want? – National
US President Donald Trump has launched the biggest effort to end the war in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, but Washington’s efforts have been met with conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Voldymyyr Zesenskyy met on Monday with European Allies in London as he faced US pressure to accept a ceasefire plan at a time when Russian forces are doing little but strong.
Trump Steve Witkoff Steve Witkoff and his son Jared Kushner visited Moscow last five days Vladimir Putin. Witkoff and Kushner at the time held several meetings with high-ranking Ukrainian officials in Florida in an attempt to bridge the gap over a plan that Moscow has criticized very kindly.
It is not clear where the proposal stands after those discussions. But, publicly, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have set some of their demands.
Putin wants all areas in four key regions taken by his forces and Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russia. He also demanded that Ukraine withdraw from other unoccupied areas in the east.
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Moscow has also insisted that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO, limit the size of its army, grant official status to the Russian Federation, and recognize the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russia has refused to stop fighting until a comprehensive peace agreement is reached.
Kyiv has said it is ready to stop fighting along the existing rear line – even if it would not officially operate CERIRET currently under Russian control. It also rejected Moscow’s demands for Moscow to give up another World Russia could not take by force and drop its bid for NATO membership.
As part of the peace deal, Ukraine demanded strong security guarantees from Europe and the US to deter Russia from attacking again.
Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of slowing down the rhetoric to allow his forces time to press forward and attack.
Trump shows patience with zelenskyy
Trump on Sunday appeared to be at odds with Zelenskyy, as he has been before.
“Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure Zelenskyy’s fine with it,” Trump said. “His people love it, but he hasn’t read it.”
It’s not clear why Trump thinks Zelenskyy hasn’t read the program anyone says he likes. Ukrainian authorities have made limited comments about it and very few details of the talks have been made public.
Putin also did not fully support the White House plan. While the Russian leader last week praised Trump’s peace efforts, he also noted that some parts of the plan were unacceptable to Moscow and needed more work.
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