Axios on Zelenskyy's new call: Russia still wants Donbas, U.S. trying to resolve it
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Office of the President)

Moscow still wants Kyiv to surrender the Ukrainian Donbas, but the US is trying to resolve this issue. This was reported by the American media outlet Axios, citing one of its interlocutor, after new negotiations between Kyiv and Washington with the participation of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to two interlocutors, the conversation, which the head of state joined by phone, lasted two hours and focused on the issue of territory and security guarantees. On the American side, the special envoy of the US president Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Donald Trump Jared Kushner, the Ukrainian side was also represented by the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov and the head of the Ukrainian delegation and secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov.

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According to Axios, this conversation was the result of "three days of marathon negotiations" between senior American and Ukrainian officials in Miami regarding Trump's proposed peace plan.

The conversation took place after almost five-hour meeting Wittkoff and Kushner with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on December 2 in Moscow.

The source, who has direct knowledge of the matter, said that the special envoy and Trump's son-in-law gathered information from both sides and pressured both Putin and Zelenskyy to make the concessions necessary to reach a deal.

Discussions on the issue of territory were difficult, said an interlocutor familiar with the December 6 conversation.

Moscow still demands that Kyiv withdraw its troops from part of Donbas, which it continues to control, but the United States is trying to develop new ideas to overcome this problem, said another interlocutor.

Another key issue of discussion was US security guarantees for Ukraine: one interlocutor said that the parties had made significant progress and were close to an agreement.

However, further work is needed to make sure that Kyiv and Washington interpret the draft guarantees in the same way, he added.

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"The main challenging issues concern territorial matters and security guarantees. We are aiming to ensure that the agreed solutions are realistic, fair, and sustainable," ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Olga Stefanishyna told the media.

She also announced that the talks would continue, adding that "in-person meetings are crucial."

Umerov and Hnatov are expected to return to Europe from Miami and brief Zelenskyy in London on December 8 on the American proposals.

An unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios: "We need to take all the drafts and to brainstorm."

Further talks and meetings with Witkoff and Kushner are expected later in the second week of December, Axios adds.

Zelenskyy himself called the conversation with American representatives "long and meaningful," as well as "very substantive and constructive."

"We paid attention to many aspects and quickly discussed the key things that can guarantee the end of the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia's failure to fulfill its promises, as it has done many times in the past," the head of state said.

  • Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian delegation said that following a new round of talks on a peace plan, Kyiv and Washington agreed on a framework of security arrangements.
  • At the same time, French president Macron announced that he and Zelenskyy, along with the heads of the British and German governments, would meet on December 8 to assess the situation and negotiations under US mediation.