BRUSSELS, December 15. /TASS/. During Sunday's Berlin talks, which included the US and Ukrainian delegations, Vladimir Zelensky rejected the US' proposal to withdraw Ukrainian and Russian troops from Donbass and establish a free economic zone there, Politico reported, citing an unnamed French official.
Meanwhile, US representatives continue to demand territorial concessions from Kiev in order to end the conflict, the source told the newspaper. European countries disagree with Washington's position, believing that the issue of territories is not subject to discussion until Ukraine receives security guarantees.
Zelensky's planned meeting on Monday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, followed by the participation of several EU and NATO officials, as well as potential negotiations in the E3 format (Germany, the UK, and France), will allow Europe to once again attempt to persuade the US to alter its stance on a peaceful settlement, Politico noted.
On Friday, Le Monde reported that the Ukrainian authorities agree with the idea of creating a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbass but believe that it requires a mutual withdrawal of forces along the current front line. Le Monde noted that this point was included in a new 20-point peace plan sent to Washington and that Ukraine authored the proposal with support from the UK, France, and Germany rather than the US.
On Sunday, a meeting was held in Berlin between US and Ukrainian delegations to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. The US delegation included special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law and businessman Jared Kushner. Zelensky, Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, and Chief of the General Staff Andrey Gnatov participated on the Ukrainian side. Merz left the negotiating room after delivering a brief welcome speech.
Peace process
In November, Washington proposed a 28-point plan for settling the conflict in Ukraine. The document caused discontent among Kiev and its European partners, who tried to significantly revise it. On November 23, the US and Ukraine held consultations in Geneva. Later, President Donald Trump said that the initial plan for a peaceful settlement had been revised to take the positions of Moscow and Kiev into account, leaving only a few contentious issues. He also noted that the number of points had been reduced to 22.
On November 30, representatives of the US and Ukraine met in Florida to discuss ways to end the conflict, long-term solutions to economic and security issues, prospects for elections in Ukraine, and the territorial issue.
On December 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, businessman Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin. The key topic was the settlement in Ukraine. The conversation lasted about five hours. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the sides discussed the essence of the proposals from the four documents on the US peace plan.
On December 8, Vladimir Zelensky announced that the next evening, he would hand over a new version of the peace plan developed during his meeting with European leaders to the US. The head of the Kiev regime noted that the plan had been reduced from 28 points to 20 and that a compromise on the issue of territories had not yet been found.
Recently, numerous articles have appeared in the media about various initiatives allegedly included in Trump's plan. For instance, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that the US plan to settle the Ukrainian conflict involves establishing a demilitarized zone that would be recognized internationally as Russian territory. Ukrainian media outlets have picked up on this topic, and France's Le Monde wrote that Ukrainian authorities agree with the idea of creating a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbass but believe it requires mutual withdrawal of forces along the current front line.