LEADERS TO REFINE DETAILS IN US MEETING
Zelenskyy added that his meeting with Trump aimed to “refine things” in the drafts and discuss potential deals on Ukraine’s economy.
He said he was not ready to say if any deal would be signed during his visit, but Ukraine was open to it.
A security guarantees agreement between Ukraine and the US was “almost ready” and the 20-point plan draft was at 90% completion, Zelenskyy added.
Wary of failed guarantees from allies in the past, Ukraine is seeking robust and legally-binding deals to prevent any further Russian aggression.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who has at times expressed frustration with the slow pace of progress in the negotiations, previously suggested that he would meet with Zelenskyy if he felt that a major diplomatic advance was possible.
European leaders might join the talks online, according to Zelenskyy. On Friday, he discussed “significant progress” in peace efforts with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb.
RUSSIAN DEMANDS
It was not clear which peace plan proposals Moscow would be willing to accept.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, spoke with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received US proposals about a possible peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday.
When asked how Moscow viewed the documents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not want to comment as Russia felt making remarks in public could undermine the negotiations.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that Putin told some of Russia’s top businessmen that he might be open to swapping some territory controlled by Russian forces elsewhere in Ukraine, but that in exchange, he wanted the whole of the Donbas.
Even as the talks proceeded, Russia continued hammering Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and stepped up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine’s main seaports. On Friday, a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two.
Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue of placing additional pressure on Russia with Trump.
Source: CNA
