White smoke for peace? There are “good chances” of an agreement between Kiev and Moscow

After weekend negotiations in Florida between the USA and Ukraine, Donald Trump considered that there is a “good chance” of reaching an agreement to end the war. Zelensky thanked the US for “the time they are dedicating with such intensity” and the constructive tone of the conversation. A small step towards peace?

The American president, Donald Trumpconsidered this Saturday that there are “good chances” of reaching an agreement to put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, following the negotiations between a North American and Ukrainian delegation that took place this weekend in Florida.

“I think Russia would like this to end, and I think Ukraine, I know the Ukraine would like this to end”, declared Donald Trump aboard the presidential plane Air Force One.

After the meeting, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskywhich on Saturday said it was feasible to achieve , emphasized the constructive tone of the dialogue between the parties and the fact that Ukraine’s interests had been addressed.

“It is important that there is a constructive tone in the conversation and that all issues have been addressed openly and with the aim of guarantee sovereignty and the national interests of Ukraine”, wrote Zelensky on the Telegram platform about the dialogue regarding the peace plan maintained between Kiev and Washington.

“AI thank the United States, President Trump’s team and the President himself for time that they are dedicating so intensely defining the steps to end the war. We will continue to work”, added Zelensky after being informed about the results of the meeting.

The Ukrainian head of state, who wrote his message after being informed about what he called “the main parameters of the dialogue, the highlights and some results”, specified that expects a “full report” of the delegation, which will be given to you in a private meeting.

At the meeting held in Florida between the delegation led by Rustem Umerov and the group of US representatives, headed by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubioboth sides discussed the peace plan to end the war, started by the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The conversations were considered “productive” by Rubio, who, however, warned that “there is still work to be done” to reach an agreement.

On the Ukrainian side, Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said the meeting addressed “all important questions for Ukraine and Ukrainians.”

An American official told the AFP news agency that the White House special envoy, Steve Witkoffleaves this Monday for Moscow, with the aim of continuing negotiations with Russia on Washington’s plan to end the war in Ukraine.

The same source indicated that Witkoff is expected to meet with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday. The trip takes place 24 hours after negotiations between delegations from the United States and Ukraine in Florida.

Donald Trump recently released a peace plan considered by several European diplomats as .

Washington’s peace plan released in mid-November, which included the , was initially welcomed by the Kremlin, but suffered changes following negotiations between North Americans, Ukrainians and Europeans in Geneva, Switzerland.

The initial version of the plan, with , lraised strong concerns in Kiev for including measures such as the ceding of territories, the reduction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the renunciation of NATO membership.

The US proposal provides that Ukraine cede the Donbass region to Russiain addition to accepting limits on the size of its Armed Forcesaccording to details of the plan obtained by Politico.

The European Union to the North American plan, which foresees more soldiers in the Ukrainian armyimportant changes in the delimitation of NATO’s borders and presence, and that the non-aggression policy will have to be in Russian law and not just be “expected”.

Russia reacted to Europe’s counter-proposal: “it doesn’t suit us”.

EU criticizes Europe’s absence

The High Representative for EU Security Policy, Kaja Kallaconsidered today that this week “could be crucial” to reaching an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, but criticized the fact that the European Union is absent from the negotiations.

“This week could be crucial for diplomacy,” said Kaja Kallas, at the entrance to a ministerial meeting in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and home to the main EU institutions.

Kallas recognized that there were “difficult but productive discussions” between Ukrainian and United States authorities to amend the initial proposed US peace plan.

“I don’t know the results yet, but I will talk to the ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Ukraine”, commented the former Prime Minister of Estonia.

No entanto, Kaja Kallas criticized the exclusion from the European Union of the entire process. “Ukrainians are there alones, if they were with us they would be in a stronger position”, he maintained.

The high representative for EU diplomacy also criticized the fact that the proposal presented by US President Donald Trump includes a point on halving the number of military personnel members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“If there is a pressure on the Armed Forces of Ukrainewho never invaded anyone, there should also be one about Russiajust look at all the countries it invaded in the last 100 years”, he added, alluding to the countries invaded by the then Soviet Union, including Estonia, and after the bloc’s dissolution.