NEW YORK, February 13. /TASS/. The US administration is ramping up pressure on Kiev to make concessions on Donbass in talks with Moscow, the New York Times reports, citing Ukrainian officials.
According to the paper, Ukraine seeks to ensure Western security guarantees before making any territorial concessions. However, it’s unclear what form those security guarantees might take, "despite years of talks and a flurry of diplomatic action" by the White House in 2025, the New York Times notes.
Ukrainian parliament member Yaroslav Yurchishin told the newspaper that during the peace talks in the UAE earlier this month, the US urged Ukraine to hold elections by May 15. He added that the Trump administration had threatened to pull out of the negotiating process if Ukraine was not prepared to compromise, including by holding elections.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that an agreement had been reached to hold the next round of Russia-US-Ukraine talks next week. According to Politico the meeting could take place in Miami or Abu Dhabi.
The Emirati capital held the second round of trilateral talks on February 4-5. US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff announced after the meeting that Moscow and Kiev had agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war. The first round of consultations was held in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24. Russia’s delegation was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.