Trump: Zelensky still hasn't read the peace plan

At the same time, the President of Ukraine spoke about a meaningful telephone conversation with Trump representatives

US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is “not ready” to sign the American plan to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, since he has not even familiarized himself with the proposal. He told reporters about this before the Kennedy Center Awards ceremony, The Hill writes. It is not clear from Trump’s words whether we are talking about a previously discussed plan or a new option.

“I must say, I am a little disappointed that President Zelensky has not yet reviewed the proposal - at least as of a few hours ago. His people liked the plan, but he didn’t,” Trump said.

According to the US President, Moscow “would prefer to get all” of Ukraine, but agrees to the terms of the peace plan. “Russia, as I understand it, agrees, but I’m not sure that Zelensky is happy with it,” Trump added.

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Kyiv's contacts with US representatives

On December 6, Zelensky reported a “long and meaningful” conversation with representatives of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He said the parties discussed “key things that can guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion.”

“I thank [them] for their willingness to work together around the clock. American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions; it was a constructive conversation, albeit a difficult one. We continue to work,” Zelensky wrote in a telegram.

The President of Ukraine noted that he expects a detailed report on negotiations with American representatives in Miami from Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrei Gnatov. Later, Zelensky also reported a “substantive and constructive” telephone conversation with Witkoff and Kushner, in which Umerov and Gnatov, who are now in the United States, participated.

“We paid attention to many aspects and quite quickly discussed key things that can guarantee the end of the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia not fulfilling its promises, as has happened more than once in the past,” Zelensky said.

US negotiations with Moscow and details of the plan

On December 2, Kushner and Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Kremlin said there was no agreement on a number of issues, but called the negotiations “a normal working process for finding a compromise.”

The initial version of the plan, published in the media, assumed the transfer of the entire Donbass to Russia, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the held territories of the Donetsk region and the freezing of battles in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions along the contact line. After contacts with the Ukrainian delegation, the United States updated the document and, according to The New York Times, excluded the territorial clauses, proposing to submit them for “future negotiations.”

As Axios writes, citing sources, during a two-hour conversation between representatives of Washington and Kyiv, territorial issues and security guarantees were discussed. The discussions on the territories were “complicated”, while on the issue of guarantees the parties “have made significant progress and are closer to an agreement.” The source also said Witkoff and Kushner pressured both Putin and Zelensky to make concessions.

US Presidential Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said that a deal to end the war is “really close” and now depends on resolving two key issues: the future of Donbass and the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

“I think if we get those two things sorted out, the rest will work out just fine,” Kellogg said, adding that “the last 10 meters to the target are the hardest.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that at a meeting with Witkoff and Kushner on December 2, the Russian side did not agree with a number of points of the American plan. According to him, the original 28-point proposal remained virtually unchanged, but the United States proposed breaking it into four separate “packages.”

After a meeting with EU representatives in Geneva at the end of November, the number of points was reported to have been reduced to 19. Neither 28 nor 19 points of the plan were officially published, but Kiev agreed to take the plan as the basis for peace negotiations.

Earlier, “Verstka” reported that despite disagreements over Donbass and Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Trump announced a “good chance” of ending the war.

Photo: Meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris on December 7, 2024. EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect

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