After ‘meaningful progress’ at peace talks, Zelenskyy says Ukraine is at critical moment
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine was at a “critical moment” and would soon determine its next steps, after negotiations with American officials over the weekend to revise a U.S.-backed proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia.
High-level discussions held in Geneva on Sunday were an attempt to address the concerns of Ukraine and its European allies about an early draft of the proposal, which many Ukrainians had deemed overly favorable to Moscow.
The White House and Ukraine’s presidency released a joint statement overnight saying “meaningful progress” had been made toward “aligning positions.” They said the talks had resulted in an “updated and refined” draft — with “intensive work” set to continue in the coming days.
On Monday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s delegation was returning home and would deliver a full report about the progress of the talks.
“Based on these reports, we will determine the next steps and the timing,” he said in a statement on the social site X.
President Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to agree to a settlement plan by Thursday, though he has indicated that talks could continue if they are going well. U.S. officials have said that they want to strike a deal with Ukraine that can then be presented to Russia.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials declined to say what parts of the proposal were adjusted in Geneva. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had “managed to keep extremely sensitive points on the table,” including the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
“But to achieve real peace, more, more is needed,” he told a parliamentary summit earlier on Monday, calling this a “critical moment” for Ukraine.
“Of course, we’ll continue working with partners, especially the United States, and look for compromises that strengthen, but not weaken us,” he added.
At least one European leader suggested that there were still wide gaps in the discussions.
“The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved,” the leader, President Alexander Stubb of Finland, wrote on social media.
Another official, Johann Wadephul, the German foreign minister, suggested on German public radio that the plan had been revised to address objections to the provision ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.
“All questions concerning Europe, as well as those concerning NATO, have been removed from this plan,” Wadephul said.
“Now we must ensure,” he added, “that Ukraine’s sovereignty will be preserved.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Sunday that the unresolved issues in the peace proposal were not “insurmountable,” expressing optimism before he left Geneva that a deal could soon be reached. Still, he acknowledged that Russia “will have to agree to this,” and it was unclear when talks would turn to Moscow.
The Kremlin said on Monday that it had not yet “officially” received any information about the outcome of the Geneva discussions. Russia was open to contacts and negotiations but had “no concrete details concerning talks involving us,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters. He added that Russia did not plan to hold talks with American officials this week.
European leaders held their own meeting about the peace proposal negotiations while in Angola for a summit with the African Union.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, told reporters afterward that while “works remains to be done” on the peace plan, the Geneva talks helped ensure that “there is now a solid basis for moving forward.”
The key principles that Europe wants to see reflected in any peace plan include respect for Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty, she said. Ukraine’s allies are expected to meet again on Tuesday by videoconference.
“Only Ukraine, as a sovereign country, can make decisions regarding their armed forces,” von der Leyen said. “The choice of their destiny is in their own hands.”