President Putin rejects compromise on Ukraine at year-end press conference
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has no intention of easing its demands for Ukraine to abandon NATO membership and leave occupied territories.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Donald Trump are scheduled to meet on December 28, with Zelenskiy saying a new chance to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine is on the horizon.
The White House did not immediately confirm the meeting to USA TODAY, but President Zelenskiy said the meeting was “specifically to finalize everything as possible.” President Zelenskiy added on social media that “many things may be decided before the new year.”
The meeting, reportedly scheduled to take place at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, comes after a flurry of diplomatic talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials over a new 20-point peace plan announced by President Zelenskiy on December 24. The framework amended clauses in an earlier US draft peace deal that were widely criticized as being skewed in Russia’s favor, including a reduction in Ukraine’s military.
Zelenskiy’s plan was developed in consultation with the United States, but it still faces several major hurdles before it can be formally presented to Russia.
Territory is a continuing point of contention. Russia wants complete control of eastern Ukraine, which is currently under the control of Kiev forces. President Zelensky has said he would consider creating a demilitarized zone in the region, as the United States has proposed, but Ukraine officially wants to end the conflict along the current front lines, where its forces have established defensive positions.
Another challenge may be the commissioning of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the south of the country, currently owned by Russia. Russia and Ukraine both want to work with the United States, but exclude their adversaries, and run factories together. The United States has previously indicated its intention to locally lead a joint nuclear project with both Russia and Ukraine.
However, it seems unlikely that Russia will accept any peace terms other than its own. At his annual public press conference on December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the previous peace terms: full control of the four main regions of the disputed region.
Contributed by: Reuters
