Ukraine talks enter critical phase ahead of New Year, US official says
Photo: US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker (Getty Images)
The US believes that on the eve of the New Year, negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war have entered a critical phase, according to US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.
"As we head into the new year and negotiations enter a critical phase, US President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of bringing both sides to the table to see if there’s a peace deal to be had," Whitaker says.
The US Ambassador to NATO adds that Trump could test whether a peace agreement between the parties is possible.
Russia trying to disrupt peace talks
On December 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump held talks in Florida, during which they discussed the details of a peace plan to end the war.
After the meeting, both leaders made statements about its results. In particular, Trump reported some progress on the Donbas issue, noting that no final decisions had been made yet, but that the parties were close to reaching an agreement.
He also announced the creation of a special working group on peaceful settlement, which will work with senior US officials and liaise with the Russian side.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, said that the peace plan had been agreed upon 90%, and security guarantees from the US 100%.
According to media reports, Donald Trump is ready to approve these guarantees through the US Congress.
On December 29, Russia accused Ukraine of allegedly attacking the residence of Vladimir Putin and threatened a retaliatory strike.
After that, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would not withdraw from the negotiation process to end the war, but would negotiate primarily with the US, and warned of a strengthening of Russia's negotiating position.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Russia's statements about an alleged drone attack on Putin's residence in Valdai a primitive fabrication, which is only a pretext for Russia to abandon peace efforts.
Zelenskyy also stressed that the information about the strikes on the Valdai residence is fake news invented by the Russians to disrupt successful negotiations on ending the war.
