On December 14, negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations concluded in the German capital of Berlin. They lasted more than five hours.
This was stated by the US special representative Steve Witkoff, who participated in the negotiations.
According to him, the representatives "held in-depth discussions on the 20-point peace plan, economic programs and other issues" and made "significant progress".
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff / Х
On the morning of December 15, the Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US representatives again.
Zelensky previously stated that the focus of the negotiations in Germany would be on how to reliably guarantee security for Ukraine, "so that the experience of the Budapest Memorandum and Russiaʼs invasion is never repeated".
Negotiations on the "peace plan"
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. It provided for the recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as de facto Russian.
After a series of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners in Geneva starting on November 23, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account the Ukrainian position.
Then, representatives of the United States and Ukraine met in Florida, and US representatives Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow on December 2 for talks with the Russian side. No specific decisions were made at the talks, although the Russian Federation called the meeting "successful".
At press conferences on December 8 and 9, Zelensky commented on the state of the “peace plan”. He reported that the American “peace plan” had been reduced from 28 to 20 points — “blatantly unpro-Ukrainian points” had disappeared. The issues of territories where no compromise was found, the question of where European funds should be attracted, and the question of security guarantees remain.
There are currently three documents on peace. A framework document with 20 points — it is constantly changing. The second document is on security guarantees between Ukraine and the US and Ukraine and the Europeans. The third document concerns the recovery after the ceasefire.
On December 9, Axios, citing sources, wrote that Trumpʼs latest proposal contained stricter conditions than previous ones, in particular regarding territories and control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
Before his trip to Germany, the Ukrainian president said that he had not received a response from the United States to the latest proposal for a "peace plan", which Ukraine and its European partners prepared and submitted to the Americans this week.
The plan will not be such that it will please everyone. There are many compromises in any of its options. But the most important thing is that it be as fair as possible for Ukraine and effective: “Not just a piece of paper, but an important step towards ending the war.”
So that after its signing, Russia would not be able to launch a third aggression against the Ukrainian people.
Zelensky added that Ukraine wanted to join NATO from the very beginning, but the US and some European countries did not support it. Therefore, now bilateral security guarantees from the US in the format of Article 5 of the NATO Charter, as well as guarantees from European partners and other countries, are already a compromise on the part of Ukraine.
Regarding territorial issues, Zelensky believes that a ceasefire along the contact line could be a fair option today — Russia views this negatively and responds that Ukraine must leave Donbas.
The US has proposed a compromise: Ukrainian troops will leave these territories, and Russian troops will not enter them, and has called it a “free Ukrainian zone”. Ukraine does not accept this idea without a mutual withdrawal of troops. There is currently no solution to this issue.
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