 Defense &
National Security |
Defense &
National Security |
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Questions hang over Ukraine peace talks |
President Trump touted significant progress in his peace push after Ukraine agreed to a trimmed-down version of a 28-point peace plan, but the thorniest issues in the war reportedly remain unresolved. |
© Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Associated Press |
The Financial Times reports that U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators left key questions around territorial concessions and security guarantees "in brackets," to be decided between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That would seem to leave the state of negotiations not far from where they were before a 28-point peace proposal, spearheaded by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, was leaked last week.
Witkoff's proposal skewed heavily toward Russia's demands and included a litany of non-starters for Ukraine, including barring future NATO membership and ceding most of the eastern Donbas region.
It's unclear what Ukraine agreed to in the 19-point plan. Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, Sergiy Kyslytsya, who is quoted at length by the Financial Times, said, "Very few things are left from the original version." Still, Trump said a deal was close in a post Tuesday afternoon on Truth Social.
"The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement,"
There also seems to be some daylight on next steps.
Ukrainian officials indicated they expected a meeting between Trump and Zelensky to discuss the remaining issues, after reaching a "common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva."
However, Trump indicated he would not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Zelensky until a deal was almost finalized. He said Witkoff would continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would engage with the Ukrainians.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed skepticism on Tuesday about any deal that "erased…key understandings" between Trump and Putin at their summit in Alaska over the summer.
"There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X Tuesday. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Colin Meyn filling in for Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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