Whitkoff to Meet Zelenskyy for Another Round of Talks on War in Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign envoy will travel to Germany this weekend, where he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders for another round of high-level talks on ending the war, writes the BBC.
Photo: Getty Images
Steve Whitkoff, who is leading the White House's mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia, will discuss the latest version of the proposed peace agreement in Berlin.
The Trump administration is pushing for an agreement by Christmas and has held several rounds of talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in recent weeks, but there are few signs of a significant breakthrough yet.
It has not yet been confirmed which European leaders will take part in the Berlin talks. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported details of the meeting, wrote that UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz could participate.
Confirmation of Whitkoff's meeting with Zelenskyy came days after Ukraine submitted its updated version of a 20-point peace plan to the US â another iteration of a proposal that first emerged in late November and sparked a flurry of diplomatic efforts.
The fate of territories in eastern Ukraine remains one of the most difficult topics in negotiations: Kyiv refuses to cede illegally occupied lands, while Moscow reiterates its intention to seize the entire Donbas region by force if Ukraine does not withdraw its troops.
Zelenskyy reacted skeptically to the White House's latest proposal for resolving the territorial issue, which envisages the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the region and its transformation into a "special economic zone."
The Ukrainian president told reporters that, under the terms proposed by the US, the Kremlin would commit not to advance into territories left by Ukrainian troops, and the land between Russian-controlled parts of Donbas and Ukrainian defensive lines would effectively become a demilitarized zone.
This proposal, which apparently attempts to resolve the issue of the territories' legal status by granting them a new status, was publicly questioned by Zelenskyy. He said: "What will prevent [Russia] from advancing? Or from infiltrating under the guise of civilians?"
Now reading
“What could we expect from Lukashenka? That he wouldn't mock us?” Tsikhanouskaya on the release of political prisoners and their expulsion to Ukraine 22
Comments