KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says proposals being negotiated with US officials for a peace deal to end his country’s nearly four-year war with Russia could be finalised within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin before further possible meetings in the United States next weekend.KY
Zelenskyy told reporters late Monday that a draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is “very workable.” He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by invading Russian forces — remain unresolved.
US-led peace efforts appear to be picking up momentum. But Russian President Vladimir Putin may baulk at some of the proposals thrashed out by officials from Washington, Kyiv and Western Europe, including postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Tuesday that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.
If Ukraine seeks “momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate, Peskov said.
“We want peace — we don’t want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,” he told reporters. “We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”
American officials on Monday said that there’s a consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90 per cent of the US-authored peace plan. US President Donald Trump said, “I think we’re closer now than we have ever been, ever, to a peace settlement. Plenty of potential pitfalls remain, however. Zelenskyy and some 30 other countries are expected to formally approve plans on Tuesday to create a compensation body to pay for damages to Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion, but questions remain about where the money will come from.
The expected approval at a ceremony in the Dutch city of The Hague follows peace talks in Berlin with US
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Zelenskyy voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the US push for ceding territory to Russia.
“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” he said, in response to journalists’ questions, “And this is already a compromise on our part.”
The Council of Europe, the continent’s preeminent human rights organisation, has facilitated the International Claims Commission, which will
allow Ukrainians to seek compensation for “damage, loss or injury” caused by the Russian Federation since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The commission will assess claims made to the already up-and-running register of damages, which was launched during a Council of Europe summit in Iceland in 2023.