Ukraine has presented the U.S. with a revised 20-point framework to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, adding that the issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Washington was proposing, as a compromise, the creation of a ‘free economic zone’ in the Ukraine-controlled parts of eastern Donbas, which Russia has demanded Ukraine hand over.
"They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of Donetsk region. They do not know who will govern this territory," he said, adding that Russia is referring to it as a "demilitarised zone".
However, Zelenskyy said there was still no common understanding on the land issue and that Ukrainians should vote on any territorial concessions in a referendum.
Kyiv, in the latest round of frantic shuttle diplomacy, is seeking to balance out a U.S.-backed plan whose original version was seen as too favourable to Moscow.
Zelenskyy added that Russia’s withdrawal from small areas in the northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well as the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, was under discussion.
He said the contact lines in the partially occupied southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson would be frozen where they currently stand.
The U.S. has also proposed potential joint governance of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, which is currently held by Russia and which Moscow wants to retain under its control.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will send a representative to participate in talks in Europe on Ukraine this weekend if there's a good chance of making progress on a ceasefire deal.
"We'll see whether or not we attend the meeting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"We'll be attending the meeting on Saturday in Europe if we think there's a good chance. And we don't want to waste a lot of time if we think it's negative," Trump added.
Ukraine is under mounting U.S. pressure to secure a deal with Russia, which has stepped up advances along the frontline in recent months and renewed large-scale attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Following reports that President Trump had set a Christmas deadline for Ukraine to accept the proposal, Zelenskyy said Washington had not given Kyiv a strict timeline.
"I think they really wanted, or perhaps still want, to have a complete understanding of where we stand with this agreement by Christmas," he said.
Alongside the 20-point framework, the wider peace plan will include separate documents on security guarantees, intended to prevent a future Russian offensive, and on rebuilding Ukraine’s war-damaged cities.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over t...
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investi...
The suspension of two major grain terminals in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk could increase pressure on Kazakhstan’s agricult...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investigation into the cause.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday for talks focused on Gaza, Palestinian statehood and regional security.
Taiwan staged military defence drills on Wednesday as China concluded joint naval exercises with Indonesia in waters east of the island.
Washington’s counter-narcotics push is expanding as Colombia’s new conservative government backs deeper security cooperation.
Meta said it had removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16, as the country’s internet regulator weighs enforcement action over its teen social media ban.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment