NEW YORK, December 20. /TASS/. Territorial issues, Ukraine’s NATO accession, the size of the Ukrainian armed forces, the status of the Russian language and control over the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant have been identified as the five main points of divergence that could obstruct a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Regarding territories, Russia demands a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbass, which the US also expects, but Kiev refuses concessions. Ukraine also refuses to abandon its NATO bid despite Vladimir Zelensky acknowledging US opposition to its membership. In addition, there is no clarity on the peacetime size of the Ukrainian military, with the US initially proposing 600,000 personnel, while Kiev and Europe insist on 800,000.
Another point of contention, the WSJ reported, is the fact that Russia insists Kiev grant state language status to Russian, a point included in the original US peace plan, but Ukraine’s leadership has not confirmed it will cease discrimination against the Russian language, media and cultural heritage. The final obstacle is control over the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, with Kiev viewing the US proposal for shared control as unfair. According to the newspaper, Zelensky has stated that mechanisms for its demilitarization and funding repairs are not worked out.
On current progress in Ukrainian settlement
Earlier, Axios reported, citing a source in the US administration, that a new round of talks between the US and Ukraine could take place this weekend at the level of military and working group representatives. The portal’s correspondent Barak Ravid said the national security advisers of Germany, France, and the UK will be in Miami for talks with White House Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian national security adviser Rustem Umerov. They will be joined by the Turkish foreign minister and the Qatari prime minister.
Besides, Axios reported that Trump’s representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to meet in Miami with Special representative of the Russian president for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Chief Executive Officer of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin expects the US side to inform it about its past contacts with the EU and Ukrainian delegations.