'There is constructive progress, we continue to work': Zelenskyy on US peace talks
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has commented for the first time on the talks between the Ukrainian delegation and US representatives in Miami regarding the peace plan. The president said the dialogue is constructive - and that this is important, according to Zelenskyy’s statement.
According to the head of state, after the Ukrainian teams completed their work in the United States, the head of the delegation and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, briefed him on the main parameters of the dialogue, key points, and preliminary results.
"The conversation must be constructive, and all issues at the meetings were discussed openly and with a focus on securing Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests," Zelenskyy’s press service reported.
He also thanked US President Donald Trump, his team, and the United States as a whole for their efforts to bring the war to an end.
"I am grateful to America, to President Trump’s team, and to the president personally for the time invested so intensively in defining the steps needed to end the war. We continue the work. I look forward to a full report from our team during a personal meeting," Zelenskyy said.
Miami talks
The United States presented a so-called peace plan for Ukraine in November, a plan drafted with input from Russia. It originally consisted of twenty-eight points, many of which were unfavorable to Kyiv because they included significant concessions to the aggressor, such as territorial compromises, reducing the size of the armed forces, accepting security guarantees from Moscow, giving up long-range weapons, and accepting a veto on NATO membership, among other demands.
Later, during negotiations in Geneva attended by the Ukrainian delegation, US representatives, and European partners, the plan was revised. According to media reports, it was cut down to nineteen points.
A direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump was expected next, but instead, the Ukrainian delegation led by Umerov traveled to the United States and to Miami.
Earlier today, the secretary of the national security and defense council said Ukraine had made significant progress toward a just peace and toward narrowing differences with the American side. He stressed that Ukraine’s core goals, security, sovereignty, and a reliable peace, remain unchanged and are fully shared by the United States.
