Ukrainian negotiators to discuss post-war reconstruction with US team on Feb 26, says Zelensky
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The teams are expected to discuss preparations for a trilateral meeting that would include Russia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KYIV – Ukrainian negotiators will meet US officials on Feb 26 to discuss the country’s post-war reconstruction, including a “prosperity package”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb 25.
He told reporters in a WhatsApp media chat that the teams would also be discussing preparations for a trilateral meeting that would include Russia.
He added that Kyiv hoped this would take place in early March.
Mr Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defence Council and head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, will meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Jared Kushner, the US President’s son-in-law, in Geneva, said Mr Zelensky.
“First, it will be a bilateral meeting with the American side. The first question is the prosperity package, which is the package for Ukraine’s recovery, and they will discuss the details,” Mr Zelensky said.
Proceeding with the reconstruction of Ukraine after the destruction wrought by Russian air raids and front-line combat has become a major element in broader talks on how to end the war, which entered its fifth year this week
Ukraine hopes to attract about US$800 billion (S$1 billion) of public and private funds over the next 10 years to rebuild the country.
The latest assessment from the World Bank released on Feb 23 showed that rebuilding Ukraine’s economy would cost an estimated US$588 billion.
The assessment is based on data from Feb 24, 2022, through Dec 31, 2025.
Ukrainian officials are pitching Ukraine as a future European Union member and a lucrative investment destination, but any funds depend on a ceasefire and a peace deal which remain elusive.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in February
Mr Zelensky also said that Ukrainian and US negotiating teams would discuss details of exchanges of war prisoners between Ukraine and Russia. REUTERS
