Kyiv: Ukraine is expected to hand its latest peace proposals to US negotiators on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms.
As tension builds around US President Donald Trump’s push for a settlement and calls for an election in
Ukraine, Zelenskyy said his country would be ready for such a vote within three months if partners can guarantee safe balloting during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered.
Washington’s goal of a swift compromise to stop the fighting that followed Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022 is reducing Kyiv’s room for manoeuvring. Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing Trump he is willing to make some compromises.
Ukraine’s European allies are backing Zelensky’s effort to ensure that any settlement is fair and deters future Russian attacks.
The French government said Ukraine’s allies — dubbed the “Coalition of the Willing” — will discuss the negotiations on Thursday
by video. Zelenskyy said it would include those countries’ leaders.
“We need to bring together 30 colleagues very quickly. And it’s not easy, but nevertheless we will do it,” he said late Tuesday.
Zelenskyy’s openness to an election was a response to comments by Trump in which he questioned Ukraine’s democracy and suggested the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to stand before voters.
Those comments echo similar remarks often made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.