Extract from ABC News
US President Donald Trump has been pushing his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace agreement. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
In short:
Ukraine would be get security guarantees similar to those afforded NATO members under a US-led peace deal, White House officials say.
Marathon talks have been held in Berlin between envoys from the US and Ukraine, as allies try to broker an agreement to end the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow.
What's next?
The talks coming as fighting continues, with Ukraine's domestic security service announcing it has struck a Russian submarine in the Black Sea.
Ukraine would be offered security guarantees similar to those afforded NATO members under a US-led peace deal to end Russia's war, White House officials say.
Following marathon talks in Berlin between Kyiv and Washington, 90 per cent of issues between Moscow and Kyiv have been resolved, the officials added.
In a briefing with journalists, they said security guarantees were the main topic of conversation, with the US offering Ukraine security guarantees similar to those afforded to members of the Western military alliance.
Such protection was described by one official as the "platinum standard", with US President Donald Trump wanting to prevent Russia from moving further west into Europe.
"We’ve moved considerably closer in narrowing the issues between Ukrainians and the Russians," one of the White House officials said.
President Donald Trump is expected to call into a meeting between European and US negotiators in Berlin on Monday evening, local time. (AP: Evan Vucci)
Russia was open to Ukraine joining the European Union, it was said, but issues around territory remained.
Ukraine has long rejected Russian demands for it to give up territory in its east as part of any peace deal.
Both US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend a dinner on Monday night in Berlin, with Donald Trump expected to call into the event.
Working groups are expected to meet in the United States during the coming weekend, possibly in Miami, one of the officials said.
Ukraine says 'real progress' made in talks
Kyiv's negotiator Rustem Umerov wrote on social media that the marathon diplomacy in the German capital had been "constructive and productive", and "real progress" had been achieved.
"We hope we will reach an agreement that will bring us closer to peace by the end of the day," he added, without spelling out details on the talks over difficult issues, from territorial concessions to security guarantees.
Mr Zelenskyy met for a second day with Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, for talks hosted under tight security in the chancellery of Germany's Friedrich Merz.
Mr Witkoff had on Sunday also hailed "progress", but an official briefed on the talks told news agency AFP on Monday that the US side still wants Ukraine to cede control of the eastern Donbas region as a condition of peace talks with Russia -- a red line for Kyiv.
Later on Monday, Mr Merz and a group of European leaders -- including from Britain, France, Italy, Poland and Finland, along with the NATO and EU chiefs -- were due to join Mr Zelenskyy for an evening summit seen as a show of support for the embattled country.
Ukrainians are continuing to endure near-nightly drone and missile attacks as Russia's invasion continues. (Reuters)
Ukraine, fighting a gruelling war since Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022, hopes to convince Washington that a ceasefire must be agreed without prior territorial concessions to Russia.
European leaders have been adamant any eventual deal must create a "just peace" and not pave the way for future Russian aggression.
Mr Trump has pushed strongly for an end to the war but an initial 28-point plan last month was seen as heavily favouring Moscow's position by Kyiv and its European allies.
Ukraine has since presented counter-proposals and Mr Zelenskyy said on Sunday his country was ready in principle to compromise on its desired NATO membership, provided it received solid security guarantees in return.
Russia, meanwhile, has signalled it will insist on its core demands, including on territory and on Ukraine never joining NATO.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was expecting the United States to "provide us with the concept that is being discussed in Berlin today".
A day earlier, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov had said: "I think the contribution of both Ukrainians and Europeans to these documents is unlikely to be constructive, that's the problem."
Negotiations 'have never been as serious as they are now'
The official briefed on the US-Ukrainian talks told AFP that American negotiators still want Ukraine to cede control of the eastern Donbas -- made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Moscow controls almost all of Lugansk and about 80 per cent of the Donetsk region, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Russia is continuing to demand territorial concessions from Ukraine in exchange for agreeing to any peace deal. (Reuters/Sputnik: Alexander Kazakov)
Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants territory," said the official, adding that the United States was demanding that Ukraine "withdraw" from the regions and that Kyiv was refusing.
"It's a bit striking that the Americans are taking the Russians' position on this issue," the official added.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul voiced cautious optimism about the days of diplomacy, tempered with worries about whether Putin would back away from his demands.
"I believe the negotiations have never been as serious as they are now. They are being conducted very intensively," Mr Wadephul said in the morning.
"But whether it will be successful, we won't know until the end of the week. Of course, every effort is worthwhile in this historic situation to finally end this terrible dying and bring this war to a close.
"What we still don't know is whether Vladimir Putin truly has a genuine will to end this war."
Ukraine strikes Russian submarine
The possibility of a breakthrough came as Ukraine's domestic security service on Monday said it had caused critical damage to a Russian submarine.
The SBU said Kyiv's forces had struck the sub at the port of Novorossiysk, one of Russia's largest such facilities on the Black Sea.
In a statement, it added the Kilo-class submarine was knocked out of operation following the first such attack by Sea Baby drones.
AFP/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment