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After Berlin talks between American envoys and European leaders, all eyes are on Russia as the final proposal to end the war with Ukraine is set to be submitted within days and its fate would depend on Vladmir Putin's response.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said a revised American proposal could be presented to Russia within days, according to The Independent.
For two days, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, held talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders to prepare a proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Even as there remain several gaps, progress is said to have been made in those talks.
For the first time, the Trump administration pledged security guarantees modelled on Nato’s Article 5, according to Reuters.
Zelenskyy has long maintained that security guarantees —preferably legally binding guarantees enshrined into law by the US Congress— must be a non-negotiable aspect of any settlement to the war. Two officials, who described the security guarantees offered to Ukraine as "Article 5-like", told Reuters they would include intensive monitoring and deconfliction measures to prevent small conflicts from escalating.
There are signs that Putin could reject any proposal submitted by the Trump administration — he has so far rejected all three proposals submitted by the administration whereas Zelenskyy has accepted all of them.
For one, the Kremlin has rejected any ceasefire for Christmas and reiterated its war on Ukraine would continue until all goals are achieved.
"We want peace. We don’t want a truce to give Ukraine a breathing space and prepare for a continuation of the war. We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said about the proposal.
Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that Russia would not give back land to end the war and would not accept any Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine after the end of the war, according to The Independent.
Throughout the war, Putin has stuck by his maximalist conditions to end the war that would essentially mean a Ukrainian surrender of Ukraine and the loss of its sovereignty and nationhood. Putin did not overtly show enthusiasm even about Trump's original '28-point plan' that included nearly all of his maximalist terms and sought to serve him a victory on a platter.
Even as progress has been made on security guarantees in talks between Ukraine, European partners, and the Trump administration, significant progress has not yet been made on the question of land. While Trump wants Ukraine to surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, Zelenskyy has offered to freeze battle lines.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said a revised American proposal could be presented to Russia within days, according to The Independent.
For two days, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, held talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders to prepare a proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Even as there remain several gaps, progress is said to have been made in those talks.
For the first time, the Trump administration pledged security guarantees modelled on Nato’s Article 5, according to Reuters.
Zelenskyy has long maintained that security guarantees —preferably legally binding guarantees enshrined into law by the US Congress— must be a non-negotiable aspect of any settlement to the war. Two officials, who described the security guarantees offered to Ukraine as "Article 5-like", told Reuters they would include intensive monitoring and deconfliction measures to prevent small conflicts from escalating.
Russia signals rejection of any proposal
There are signs that Putin could reject any proposal submitted by the Trump administration — he has so far rejected all three proposals submitted by the administration whereas Zelenskyy has accepted all of them.
For one, the Kremlin has rejected any ceasefire for Christmas and reiterated its war on Ukraine would continue until all goals are achieved.
"We want peace. We don’t want a truce to give Ukraine a breathing space and prepare for a continuation of the war. We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said about the proposal.
Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that Russia would not give back land to end the war and would not accept any Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine after the end of the war, according to The Independent.
Throughout the war, Putin has stuck by his maximalist conditions to end the war that would essentially mean a Ukrainian surrender of Ukraine and the loss of its sovereignty and nationhood. Putin did not overtly show enthusiasm even about Trump's original '28-point plan' that included nearly all of his maximalist terms and sought to serve him a victory on a platter.
Even as progress has been made on security guarantees in talks between Ukraine, European partners, and the Trump administration, significant progress has not yet been made on the question of land. While Trump wants Ukraine to surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, Zelenskyy has offered to freeze battle lines.
