Russia rejects 20-point peace plan
Russia demands key changes to the latest version of the 20-point peace plan proposed by the United States and Ukraine. Russia considers this peace plan a starting point for further negotiations, as it lacks key provisions that are important to the Kremlin.
Bloomberg reports on December 24.
Peace Plan by Ukraine and the United States
According to a Bloomberg source, the Kremlin is seeking key changes to the latest peace plan proposed by the United States and Ukraine. Russia is concerned about guarantees that NATO will not expand eastward in the future and that Ukraine will maintain neutrality if it joins the European Union. The source also said that the plan lacks the restrictions Russia wants on the size and types of Kyiv's post-war armed forces and weapons. Additionally, the plan does not clearly guarantee the status of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Furthermore, Moscow wants clarity on sanctions and the hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian state assets held by the West. The president of Ukraine claims that Russia is currently offering to withdraw its troops from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions.
However, Moscow also wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the territory it controls in the Donetsk region. Ukraine rejects this demand, fearing that surrendering well-fortified territory would leave it vulnerable to a new Russian attack. Зеленський announced that Ukraine is trying to convince Trump to propose that Russia stop the war along the current line of contact.
"We are in a situation where the Russians want us to withdraw from the Donetsk region, while the Americans are trying to find a way for this to be ‘not a withdrawal’ – because we are against withdrawal," Zelensky said
Disagreements regarding the points of the Peace Plan
Refusing any land would be difficult to implement because it would violate Ukrainian legislation and require a referendum. As part of a compromise, the president of Ukraine promised to hold presidential elections as soon as possible after the ceasefire.
He stated that Ukraine will maintain a peacetime army of up to 800,000 soldiers. Any ceasefire violation by Russia will trigger the implementation of U.S. security guarantees. Zelenskyy informed journalists that differences remain between Kyiv and Washington, particularly concerning the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which Russia occupies. Nevertheless, he offered an optimistic assessment, stating that the negotiations "have significantly advanced the drafting of documents."
Russia did not support the latest version of the 20-point plan, but does not want to risk angering Trump by rejecting it outright. This week, Trump stated that the negotiations are going "well" and that an agreement could be reached soon. However, hopes for an agreement by Christmas have been dashed. A ceasefire will take effect on the day the peace agreement is signed, provided that international mediators monitor it.
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