Zelensky has talks on Ukraine with US envoys Witkoff, Kushner

Summary

• Zelensky held "very good" talks with Trump's envoys, Witkoff and Kushner, to end the "brutal Russian war" and discussed "substantive details."
• Zelensky said there are "good ideas" for lasting peace and thanked the envoys for their constructive approach and intensive work.
• Ukraine and the US agreed on a 20-point plan, but the Kremlin has not shown a willingness to abandon its territorial demands.

KYIV - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 25 he had had “very good” talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Mr Steve Witkoff and Mr Jared Kushner, focused on ending the “brutal Russian war”.

“We discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work,” he said, in a post on social media.

“There are good ideas that can work towards a shared outcome and the lasting peace,” he added.

Mr Zelensky thanked the two envoys for their “constructive approach, the intensive work, and the kind words”.

“We are truly working 24/7 to bring closer the end of this brutal Russian war against Ukraine and to ensure that all documents and steps are realistic, effective, and reliable,” he added.

They had also agreed during the conversation that Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov would speak with the two envoys again on Dec 25.

Mr Zelensky’s post came a day after having said that Ukraine had won some limited concessions in the latest version of a US-led draft plan
to end the Russian invasion.

The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators, is being reviewed by Moscow. But the Kremlin has previously not shown a willingness to abandon its territorial demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east.

Mr Zelensky conceded on Dec 24 that there were some points in the document that he did not like.

But he said Kyiv had succeeded in removing immediate requirements for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region or that land seized by Moscow’s army would be recognised as Russian. AFP