The United States is pressuring Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region, part of which it still controls. With reference to sources familiar with the negotiations between the US and Ukraine, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported on this on Tuesday. According to the portal, if the parties do not make progress in the negotiations, Washington may withdraw from them and focus on military operations in Iran. writes TASR.
- The United States is pressuring Ukraine to withdraw its forces from Donbass.
- Washington threatens to end negotiations and shift military focus to Iran.
- Negotiations to end the four-year war have stalled after US attacks on Iran.
- The United States makes Kiev’s security guarantees conditional on Ukraine’s complete withdrawal from Donbas.
- Ukrainian negotiators promote alternatives such as economic zones, the Americans insist on withdrawal.
American and Ukrainian negotiators met in Florida on Saturday in an effort to revive stalled talks on ending Ukraine’s four-year war. US-brokered talks have stalled since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last met in Geneva in February.
“Americans believe no deal can be reached on key issue,” said an unnamed member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s team familiar with the results of Saturday’s talks, according to the website.
The key point of contention to which the cited source referred is the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. Russia claims it in its entirety, including those parts that it has not yet conquered. Ukraine strongly rejects this request. Russia currently occupies more than 19 percent of the territory of Ukraine, including the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Washington indicated that he would, according to the official could provide security guarantees to Kiev – but only if it withdraws its forces from Donbass. If Ukraine does not comply, it is possible that this will force the United States to completely withdraw from the negotiation process, the source said.
According to Ukrainian media, peace talks continue to be shaped by the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last August in Alaska. Moscow constantly refers to the “Anchorage agreements” that were allegedly reached at the time.
“There seem to be three parties present at the meetings, but Ukraine keeps arguing over this ‘Anchorage’ matter.” Whatever is being discussed, it all comes back to the Americans saying something along the lines of: ‘Get out of Donbas and we’ll build you a paradise, just like we agreed on in Alaska.’” said another member of Zelensky’s administration.
Another source, who is directly involved in the negotiations, expressed himself in this spirit. According to him, Ukrainian negotiators spend a lot of time trying to dissuade the Americans from the idea of Ukrainians leaving Donbass, and instead convince them to create economic zones or other alternatives in the region. “But at a certain point, everything stops and we hear again, ‘You have to withdraw.’ And so it goes round and round,” he noted.
