Zelensky says Kyiv will continue to work with US, other partners on peace proposals

KYIV - Ukraine will continue to work with partners including the US on peace proposals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov 24, the second day of talks in Switzerland after Washington proposed a plan calling for concessions from Kyiv.

“We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen but not weaken us,” Mr Zelensky said via a video link from Sweden where he was attending a summit of countries seeking Russian withdrawal from Ukraine’s occupied Crimean Peninsula.

The United States and Ukraine were set to continue work on Nov 24 on a plan to end the war with Russia after agreeing to modify

an earlier proposal

 that was widely seen as too favourable to Moscow.

The two sides said in a joint statement

they had drafted a “refined peace framework”

after talks in Geneva on Nov 23, although they did not provide specifics.

The White House separately said the Ukrainian delegation had told them it “reflects their national interests” and “addresses their core strategic requirements”, although Kyiv did not issue a statement of its own.

It was not clear how the updated plan would handle a host of issues, including how to guarantee Ukraine’s security against ongoing threats from Russia.

The US and Ukraine said they would continue “intensive work” ahead of a Nov 27 deadline, although US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation during the talks, was flying back to Washington late on Nov 23.

US President Donald Trump has kept up the pressure on Ukraine to reach a deal.

On Nov 23, he

said Ukraine had shown “zero gratitude”

for American efforts over the war, prompting Ukrainian officials to emphasise their thanks for Mr Trump’s support.

Mr Trump previously set a Nov 27 deadline for Mr Zelensky to accept a peace plan, but Mr Rubio said on Nov 23 that the deadline might not be set in stone.

Mr Zelensky could travel to the US as soon as this week to discuss the most sensitive aspects of the plan with Mr Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.  

The initial 28-point proposal put forth by the US last week called on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and abandon its ambitions to join NATO. Those terms would amount to capitulation for many Ukrainians after nearly four years of fighting in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

The original plan came as a surprise to US officials across the administration, and two sources said on Nov 22 it was crafted at an October meeting in Miami that included special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Mr Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under US sanctions.

European nations issue counterproposal

Democratic lawmakers have criticised the plan as essentially a Russian wish list, but Mr Rubio has insisted that Washington authored the plan with input from both sides in the war.

European allies said they were not involved in crafting the original plan, and they released a counterproposal on Nov 23 that would ease some of the proposed territorial concessions and include a NATO-style security guarantee from the US for Ukraine if it is attacked.

The talks come as Russia has slowly gained ground in some regions, while Ukraine’s power and gas facilities have been pummelled by drone and missile attacks, leaving millions of people without water, heating and power for hours each day.

Mr Zelensky has also been under pressure at home, as a major corruption scandal has ensnared some of his ministers, stirring fresh anger at pervasive graft. That has complicated the country’s efforts to secure funding to keep its economy afloat.

Kyiv had taken heart in recent weeks after the US tightened sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, the main source of funding for the war, while its own long-range drone and missile strikes have caused considerable damage to the industry.

Mr Zelensky said Russia must pay for the war in Ukraine and that a decision on using frozen Russian assets was crucial.

“Right now, we are at a critical moment,” he said.

“There is a lot of noise in the media, and all the political pressure, and even greater responsibility for the decisions ahead.” REUTERS