Territorial issue at deadlock. Ukraine refuses to hand over Donbas to Russia – Media
Photo: Ukraine–US negotiations in Florida on the peace agreement (t.me/umerov_rustem)
Discussions of the US peace plan are ongoing, but the issue of territorial concessions seems to have reached a deadlock. Ukraine refuses to hand over the unoccupied territories of the Donbas to Russia, ABC News reports.
The outlet reports that during the meeting of the Ukrainian and US delegations in Florida, no progress was made on the decisive issue of Kyiv handing over the unoccupied territories of the Donbas.
A source familiar with the negotiations told ABC News that Russia is still not ready to discuss any form of ceasefire, while Ukraine does not want to concede any territory.
According to the source, the talks also addressed security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of Russia’s frozen assets, and possible elections in Ukraine.
The news agency emphasizes that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agreement to a peace deal is unlikely. It noted that the Kremlin leader is confident in success on the battlefield and is willing to wait until Kyiv accepts his terms.
US peace plan
In recent weeks, Ukrainian officials have met several times with their American counterparts to discuss the US peace plan.
After the first talks in Geneva, it became known that the document had been shortened. According to media reports, it now contains 19 points instead of 28.
Details of the new version of the peace plan remain unknown. Notably, the US initially demanded that Ukraine hand over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to Russia. In addition, the document included other provisions unacceptable to Ukraine.
According to RBC-Ukraine sources, the new version of the peace plan contains no restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the talks with the US, the territorial issue was discussed for 6.5 hours "only on specific points."
