The special envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just a few days to respond to the peace plan proposed by Washington, the British magazine Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing LETA referencing Meduza.
The Ukrainian leader told European allies that during a phone conversation on December 6, Trump’s advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner insisted on a prompt decision regarding the so-called peace plan. This was reported to the publication by informed sources.
According to one of them, Trump hopes to reach an agreement by Christmas. Meduza indicates that this likely refers to December 25.
The publication notes that the American peace plan stipulates that in exchange for unclear security guarantees from the U.S., Ukraine must agree to cede territories to Russia.
Earlier, the online publication Axios, citing sources, reported that during recent negotiations, the U.S. attempted to obtain Zelensky's immediate agreement to transfer all of Donbas to Russia.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that they do not consider the possibility of relinquishing any territories in favor of Russia.
According to the Financial Times, Zelensky responded to Trump’s special envoys that he needed time for consultations with other European allies before responding to Washington's proposal. Kyiv fears that if the U.S. makes a decision on the peace plan without Europe’s involvement, it could jeopardize Western unity.
One Western official told the publication that Ukraine finds itself squeezed between territorial demands it cannot accept and U.S. demands it cannot reject.
Officially, Zelensky stated that he had a "long and substantive" conversation with Witkoff and Kushner. In turn, Trump reported that Zelensky allegedly is not ready to sign the American plan to end the war initiated by Russia. According to Trump, he is somewhat disappointed because the Ukrainian leader allegedly has not yet reviewed Washington's proposal.
After the conversation with the American envoys, Zelensky met in London with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to develop a common position on Trump’s plan.
After the negotiations, he clarified that the American plan had been reduced from 28 to 20 points, excluding openly "anti-Ukrainian" proposals. Zelensky also reported that Europe and Ukraine are preparing their own version of the peace plan.
Ukrainian officials, in conversations with journalists, indicated that, in their opinion, Washington is exerting more pressure on Kyiv than on Moscow.
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