Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Zelenskyy and Donald Trump
Donald Trump harshly criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy for allegedly “not yet reading the US peace proposal” for Ukraine, which has been the subject of separate negotiations with Moscow and Kiev.
“I’m disappointed in Zelenskyyfor not having read the proposal yet. His people loved it, but he didn’t even read it,” Trump told reporters this Sunday night.
“Russia is, I believe, on board with the plan, but I’m not sure if Zelenskyy is. His people love it, but he’s not ready,” he repeated.
“This situation suits Russia. I think Russia would prefer to have the whole country”, but “I’m not sure if that suits Zelenskyy”, said the US president.
Aimed at putting an end to the conflict triggered by the Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, the plan has been substantially changed after several negotiation sessions with the Ukrainians in Geneva and Florida, to try to change the text in favor of Kiev.
The document was presented on Tuesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow by US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law and informal mediator Jared Kushner.
Few details have been released about this amended plan.
The United States presented an initial proposal with 28 points almost three weeks ago, which the European Union and Ukraine considered favored Moscow, and which did not incorporate contributions from the European Union or Ukraine.
The initial plan envisaged, among other issues, the recognition of Russian sovereignty in Donbass and Crimea, annexed in 2014.
It also provided for the reduction of the Ukrainian army to 600,000 personnel, 200,000 fewer than currently, and Ukraine’s renunciation of membership in NATO, written in the country’s Constitution.
Zelenskyy will meet this Monday in London, as the British Prime Minister Keir Starmerthe French president Emmanuel Macronand the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to debate the future of Ukraine.
