Ukrainian president stressed that his government is determined to ‘continue working with good will with the American side to genuinely achieve peace’
The Ukrainian president, , had a “constructive” conversation this Saturday with the advisors of his United States counterpart, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in which Ukrainian delegates who traveled to Miami for the contacts that are taking place there on the American proposal to end the war in Ukraine also participated. “We just had a long and substantial call,” Zelenski reported on X, where he thanked the “very concentrated and constructive” discussion.
“We covered many aspects and reviewed the key points that could ensure an end to the bloodshed and eliminate the threat of a new large-scale Russian invasion, as well as the risk that Russia will not fulfill its promises, as has happened repeatedly in the past,” he explained.
Furthermore, Zelensky stressed that his government is determined to “continue working with the American side to genuinely achieve peace” and noted that Kiev and Washington have agreed on the next steps and the formats in which the next contacts will take place.
Zelensky highlighted that he is now waiting for the return of his negotiators, Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, from the USA, to inform him personally about the talks, as “not everything can be discussed over the phone”. This Saturday’s meeting was the third between representatives of Kiev and Washington in Miami in recent days.
In Friday’s conversation, the parties agreed on a “framework of security provisions” and spoke about the “deterrence capabilities necessary to maintain lasting peace,” according to Umerov, who did not reveal details of what this supposed “framework” includes.
“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any kind of agreement depends on Russia’s willingness to demonstrate a serious commitment to long-term peace, which includes steps toward de-escalation and an end to the killings,” Umerov wrote.
Ukrainian authorities reported this Saturday about a massive Russian attack against several regions with 653 drones and 51 missiles of different types, with impacts in 29 parts of the country, which caused damage to energy and transport infrastructure and left at least eight civilians injured.
Zelensky is expected to travel to London on Monday to meet with the leaders of the format known as E3, made up of the United Kingdom, France and Germany. On this occasion, as announced by the French president, the objective will be to examine the situation and ongoing negotiations within the scope of American mediation.
The US presented a 28-point peace plan last month that included Russian demands such as the reduction of the Ukrainian Army, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire Donbass or Kiev’s renouncement of joining NATO and sending allied troops to its territory in the post-war period.
In Geneva, the US negotiated with European and Ukrainian representatives a new 20-point version without the elements that are considered red lines by Kiev and the European Union, but so far this revised version has been rejected by Moscow as a basis for starting direct negotiations.
*With information from EFE
