MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Washington expects Kiev to show more flexibility in the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and start discussing potential compromises, said Valery Chaly, Ukraine's former ambassador to the United States.
"The Americans, when they came to Kiev, suggested to [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky to be more flexible in Washington. Essentially, they expected him to discuss possible territorial compromises," said the diplomat, who was ambassador to the US from 2015 to 2019, the Ukrainian news outlet Strana reported.
Earlier, Chaly said that Western partners were not ready to support Kiev indefinitely, so the US was expecting a ceasefire plan from Zelensky, rather than a victory plan. According to the former ambassador, Ukraine's partners, including the US, plainly said that they are not ready to allocate $100 billion annually for the next few years, a minimum amount required to balance out Russian spending on the special military operation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came to Kiev for the summit of the so-called Crimean Platform on September 11. Two weeks later, Zelensky met in Washington with US President Joe Biden, as well as with Kamala Harris, vice president and the Democratic candidate for the country’s top job. According to Zelensky, he planned to discuss with Biden some kind of plan to end the conflict, a "victory plan," as it includes clauses that hinge on Washington's decisions. Last week, Zelensky presented this document to the leaders of the UK, France, Italy and Germany.
The general idea of the plan has already been reported in Western news media or voiced by Ukrainian representatives. It calls for increased arms deliveries, strikes with long-range weapons deep inside Russia, Ukraine's accelerated accession to NATO, and then the participation of Western countries in Ukraine's reconstruction. Some US and European news media, citing sources, reported that the reaction of Kiev's allies to these proposals was tepid.
Zelensky reportedly is set to present the plan to the Ukrainian legislature on October 16.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized the so-called peace formula, which is being pushed by Kiev, as unrealistic and pointed to the need to take into account the realities on the ground. Russian President Vladimir Putin listed the conditions for the conflict settlement, including the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev's refusal to join NATO. Moscow also believes all Western sanctions against Russia should be lifted, and Ukraine should commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.