On the 2nd of December, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will meet with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow to discuss a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, writes the BBC.
Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, who has served as an adviser in the diplomatic talks, is also expected to participate in the talks. The meeting in Moscow follows talks in Florida over the weekend, which were attended by representatives of the US and Ukraine, and where a peace plan, which in its initial version was strongly favorable to Russia, was discussed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the meeting in Florida as constructive, but that there were still some difficult issues that needed to be worked on.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed that the meeting between Witkoff and Putin was planned for the second half of the day.
On the 1st of December, after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky said that
Kyiv’s priorities are preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty and establishing strong security guarantees.
The most difficult point in the peace plan is the territorial issue. The Kremlin is demanding the return of territories in eastern Ukraine (including those over which Moscow has no control), but Kyiv insists that this will not be done.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on the 1st of December that the draft peace plan had been thoroughly revised, adding that the US administration was optimistic.
In late November, Putin said that he had reviewed the US peace plan and that it could serve as a basis for ending the war in the future. However, Kremlin officials later expressed doubts about whether the amendments to the peace plan made by Kyiv and its allies in the European Union would be accepted.
The initial peace plan, leaked to the media and made public in late November, sparked outrage in the Ukrainian capital and across Europe. It not only supported Russia’s demands, but also outlined how to use Russia’s currently frozen assets; it also included conditions for Ukraine’s trade with Europe. Macron said on the 1st of December that the final version of the peace plan had not yet been drawn up, and stressed that any plan would require the EU and Ukraine to work together. He added that the issue of territorial redistribution could only be considered closed if it had been discussed with Zelensky, and noted that
issues affecting the EU could only be resolved with the participation of European countries.
Macron praised the Trump administration’s efforts to end the war, which began in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, and escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said this week could be decisive, but Moscow was only willing to talk to those who promised it more than it already had. She expressed concern that pressure would be put on the weaker side, as it would be easier to end the war if Ukraine surrendered, but that was in no one’s interest.
Moscow has at times in recent months shown interest in joining US efforts to end the fighting, but its demands conflict with Ukraine’s sovereignty and are unacceptable to Kyiv. The main issue is territory, but security guarantees for Ukraine are also an unclear point. Kyiv and the Europeans want to give Ukraine security guarantees that would protect it from a new invasion, such as membership in NATO. Meanwhile, Russia is vehemently opposed to this, and Trump has also ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance.
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