Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that during peace negotiations involving the US and the Russian Federation, significant differences remain regarding the future of Donbas. He made this statement after US President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction that Zelensky had not yet reviewed the American proposal for a peaceful settlement.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“There is a vision from the US, Russia, and Ukraine, and we do not have a unified opinion regarding Donbas,” Zelensky said after US President Donald Trump noted that he was “a bit disappointed that President Zelensky has not yet read the proposal.”
Ukraine insists on security guarantees
Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Kyiv insists on concluding a separate agreement regarding security guarantees from Western partners, primarily the United States. According to the president, the key question remains how allies will act in the event of renewed aggression from Russia: “There is one question that I and all Ukrainians want an answer to: if Russia starts the war again, what will our partners do?” said Zelensky.
On December 8, Zelensky arrived in London for negotiations with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. The meetings will discuss the details of the American peace initiative.
Positions of the parties in the negotiations
Earlier, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated that Ukraine and Russia may currently be closer to signing a peace agreement than at any time since the beginning of the full-scale war. President Zelensky also emphasized that he had a constructive phone conversation with Donald Trump’s team and confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to work with American partners to achieve real peace.
On December 2, negotiations between US representatives Steve Vitkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding possible parameters of a future peace agreement concluded in Moscow. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov stated after the meeting that a compromise had not yet been reached, although some American proposals appeared acceptable to the Russian side.
Subsequently, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian delegation did not agree with certain points of the American plan for resolving the war against Ukraine. According to him, all aspects of the peace initiative were discussed in detail during the negotiations, although earlier Yuri Ushakov emphasized that a detailed analysis of the points had not been conducted and the general concept was primarily discussed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha described the negotiations in Moscow as a positive step for the peace process. According to him, the American side invited the Ukrainian delegation to the US for further discussions in the near future.