KIEV. – A revised draft peace plan presented this week by the President of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyafter negotiations with the United States, was sent to Moscow make a decisionThis could be Kiev’s best attempt yet to end the war with Russia.
The 20 points included in the plan – which, according to the Ukrainian president, is “90% ready” –cover a wide range of topicsFrom the security guarantees that Kiev demands to avoid future Russian aggression to commitments to rebuild the war-ravaged country.
Zelensky admitted that Ukraine and the United States still fail to reach full agreement on territorial issueswhich represented the biggest point of friction in the peace talks.
“Our goal is to get everything to 100%”he told reporters after announcing plans to travel to Florida and meet with the American president over the weekend. Donald Trump. “It’s not easy,” he added.
Zelensky said this earlier this week The new draft was submitted to Russia by the United States. On Friday, he said that Ukraine had no information about how the commitments proposed by Kiev had been received in Moscow. And? Russia has shown little sign of being willing to end the war.
Although the Ukrainian president did not publish the draft of the document, he explained its contents point by point in a briefing in Kiev with several media outlets. This is known about the 20 points.
The Ukrainian leader said he was particularly pleased with the broad agreement between Kiev and Washington on security guarantees to ensure that Russia does not invade Ukraine again. These guarantees would include the maintenance of an 800,000-strong peacekeeping army financed by Western partners and Ukraine’s membership in the European Union (EU).
Zelensky demands that the agreement contain a precise date for joining the European blocwhich remains uncertain given the complexity of its accession negotiations.
The guarantees would also include a bilateral security agreement with the United States.approved by Congress, as well as European military support for the defense of Ukraine. Some European countries have said they are ready to station troops in Ukraine, despite Russia’s opposition to the presence of foreign troops.
According to the Ukrainian president, “The United States, NATO and European signatories will make an offer to Ukraine.” Security guarantees along the lines of Article 5″ of the Atlantic Alliance – the collective defense clause under which an attack on one member of the group is considered a direct attack on the entire union – and Russia must formalize “a policy of non-aggression.” towards Europe and Ukraine in all laws and documents necessary for ratification” of the Treaty.
Ukraine and the United States also agreed on a number of provisions to prevent the resumption of hostilities. as a contact line monitoring mechanism “through a space-based surveillance system.” The draft plan also includes a commitment to release all prisoners of war and imprisoned civilians – including children held captive by the Kremlin. as well as organizing Elections in Ukraine as soon as possible after the signing of a peace agreement.
The fate of the Ukrainian-controlled areas in the eastern region Donetsk remains “the most complex point”Zelensky said on Tuesday.
The compromise described by Zelensky takes up the idea of creating a demilitarized zone in Donetsk – which would “de facto” remain in Russian hands – but extends it not only to the areas evacuated by Ukrainian forces, but also Russian-controlled areas from which Moscow would withdraw its troops. A buffer zone monitored by international forces would separate both sides within the demilitarized area.
“The Russian Federation must withdraw its troops from the regions Dnipropetrovsk, Mikolaiv, Sumi and Kharkiv So that this agreement comes into force,” Zelenskyy read to the media.
Another point of friction revolves around this a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with a generating capacity of six gigawatts, and Kiev claims it needs it for post-war reconstruction.
However, according to the text read out to the media, the current proposal includes the facility “operated jointly by three countries: Ukraine, the United States and Russia”.
The new draft envisages the creation of a “Ukrainian Development Fund invests in high-growth sectors“, including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence,” in which North American and Ukrainian companies would work together to support reconstruction projects, including in the energy sector.
The plan also mentions “extraction of minerals and natural resources” in Ukrainesomething that the Trump administration has made a priority as part of its economic interests in the country.
The document says this “Several funds are being founded” to address Ukraine’s post-war recovery and reconstruction, with the ultimate goal of achieving this 800 billion dollars.
It also states that “a global financial leader at the highest level” will be appointed to “Organize the implementation of the strategic recovery plan and maximize the opportunities of future prosperity.” This probably alludes to the American company BlackRockthe world’s largest asset manager, which was recently included in the peace talks by the US side.
On the weekend, The Kremlin dampened expectations that an agreement was nearalthough he stated that the Russian President, Vladimir PutinHe was informed about the negotiations.
Moscow’s most important foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakovdescribed the recent peace talks between the US and Ukraine as “pretty unconstructive”.
Russia is likely to reject the commitments offered by Ukraine on the territorial regulation and control of the nuclear power plant. The Kremlin has repeatedly said its goal is to achieve a full military takeover of Donetsk – whether on the battlefield or at the negotiating table – and has ruled out any possibility of bringing the nuclear power plant back under Ukrainian control.
AFP agency and newspaper The New York Times
About The Author
