Extract from ABC News
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a deal will require security guarantees and the release of prisoners and kidnapped children. (Reuters: Alina Smutko)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has outlined his conditions for a peace in Ukraine ahead of next week's White House meeting with US President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian president has also called on his American counterpart to strengthen sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a three-way meeting.
US media is meanwhile reporting that Mr Putin told Mr Trump he was prepared to freeze most of the current battlefield front lines in exchange for Ukrainian territory.
Mr Zelenskyy will travel to Washington to meet Mr Trump on Monday, local time, after Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska failed to yield the ceasefire sought by the US president.
After the summit Mr Trump said a full peace deal was the necessary next step rather than a ceasefire deal "which often times don't hold up".
He also said it was now "up to President Zelenskyy to get it done".
Mr Trump also told told Fox News that "land swaps" were discussed with Mr Putin, which contradicts his earlier statements that he would leave those negotiations to the Ukrainians.
Mr Putin spelled out demands for Ukrainian territory during the Alaska talks, namely the Donbas region in the country's east, Reuters and multiple US outlets reported.
Terms for peace
After a post-meeting phone call with Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X that "a real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions".
"Killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure,"' he said.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia must release Ukrainian prisoners and return abducted children, decisions about territory must not be made without Ukrainian involvement, and Ukraine must receive security guarantees with both US and European involvement.
"In my conversation with President Trump I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war," Mr Zelenskyy said.
European leaders said their "Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role" in providing security guarantees.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Trump told European leaders he was open to US security guarantees. He had previously pushed back on such requests.
He also said Mr Putin had accepted that any peace deal would require Western troops in Ukraine, the Journal said, citing several European officials.
Mr Putin meanwhile told members of his administration that the Alaska meeting was "timely and very useful", according to a translation of a statement from the Kremlin.
No comments:
Post a Comment