Ukraine’s president receives draft plan from US to revive peace talks

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a new draft plan from the US to revive stalled peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

“The President of Ukraine officially received a draft plan from the American side, which, according to the American side, can intensify diplomacy,” Ukraine’s Presidential Office said in a statement on Telegram.

According to the statement, Zelenskyy outlined the fundamental principles that are important for Kyiv and agreed to work on the points of the plan following the result of a meeting held earlier Thursday. He provided no further details on the said meeting.

It went on to say that Kyiv has supported US President Donald Trump's proposals to end the over three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war since the beginning of the year, and is ready to work with Washington and partners in Europe and around the world.

The statement added that Zelenskyy is expected to discuss the “available diplomatic opportunities” and the main points that are “needed for peace” with US President Donald Trump “in the coming days.”

About an hour before the release of the statement, Ukrainian media outlets, including public broadcaster Suspilne, reported that Zelenskyy met a US army delegation in Kyiv, led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Zelenskyy later confirmed the meeting in a statement on US social media company X.

Driscoll arrived Wednesday, where he held talks with Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal. He also met with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Thursday.

The Presidential Office statement comes two days after Axios reported that Washington, in consultation with Moscow, has been working secretly to draft a new 28-point plan to end the more than three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war.

While full details of the plan have not been made public, various news outlets, including the Financial Times, reported that it included demands for Kyiv to cede the remainder of the Donbas region and cut the size of its military by half.

A senior US official confirmed to Anadolu that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff worked on a proposal to end the war for the past month and received input from Ukraine and Russia as he drafted it.

Commenting on the reports during a conversation with journalists, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has nothing to add on the topic of a settlement in Ukraine beyond what was discussed between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in the US state of Alaska in August.

Peskov confirmed that Russia and the US maintain contacts but noted that a full-fledged consultation process on Ukraine is not underway.