Zelenskyy reveals contents of document Witkoff delivered to Putin
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff delivered a document containing various developments by the American side regarding the end of the war in Ukraine to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy emphasized that the document contained various proposals put forward by the American side. He added that they believed the key aspects were that Ukraine’s neutrality and restrictions on the Ukrainian army could not be discussed.
However, the head of state did not disclose whether Ukraine’s "red lines" are outlined in this document. The president explained that he cannot reveal everything due to agreements with the US.
Against this backdrop, Zelenskyy reminded that security guarantees for Ukraine cannot be dictated by the Russian side.
"Restrictions on our army and Ukraine’s neutrality are not up for discussion. The territorial issue is a red line that can only be discussed at the level of leaders. The Americans have long been raising the issue of exchanging territories – they call it “land swaps.” There are also other formats and proposals for discussion," Zelenskyy noted.
The head of state reminded that Ukraine does not intend to exchange anything but is ready for discussions.
Zelenskyy emphasized that if the issue involved territorial matters, they should be discussed at the leaders’ level, while other issues should be handled by technical groups. He explained that these included security guarantees and that, if NATO was involved, as the question of NATO appeared in the relevant documents and new developments, they would discuss security guarantees and determine who would guarantee that Russia would not launch another aggression.
According to him, on this issue, Ukraine relies specifically on the US and Europe.
He also explained that Witkoff’s document is not a plan brought to Putin for approval.
Zelenskyy summarized that the decision was not Russia’s alone to make, as all parties were involved. He added that there were proposals for discussion, including those put forward by the American side, and that the US was discussing them with Ukraine.
Earlier, Zelenskyy speculated on why Putin wanted to resume negotiations with Ukraine.
Furthermore, the president spoke about important results of the negotiations in Oslo.
