Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday, December 25, that he had spoken on the telephone with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after having revealed the day before the details of the new American plan aimed at ending the war with Russia.
“We discussed some important details of the ongoing work. There are good ideas that can contribute to a common result and lasting peace,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Facebook.
He said he had a “very good conversation” with the American envoys and thanked them for “their constructive approach, their intensive work and their kind words.” “I hope that the agreements reached today on the occasion of Christmas and the ideas we discussed will prove useful,” continued Volodymyr Zelensky.
A new version of the American plan
The Ukrainian president revealed on Wednesday the new version of the American plan aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, negotiated for weeks between Washington and kyiv. This text provides for a freezing of the front at current lines while offering no immediate solution on the thorny issue of the territories occupied by Russia, which represent more than 19% of Ukraine.
Unlike the original version, written by the Americans, of this document, the new version leaves aside two major demands from Moscow: a withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbass territories still under their control and a legally binding commitment from kyiv not to join NATO.
For this reason, an agreement from Moscow to this new version seems unlikely. Asked about this on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov indicated that Moscow was in the process of “formulating its position” and refused to comment on the details.
