“Everything looks quite positive. More importantly, this is a joint achievement of both Ukraine and the United States. It shows that we are very close to a substantive result,” President Zelensky said at a press conference on December 22.
He noted that Ukrainian negotiators are currently discussing a new 20-point peace plan proposed by the United States. The plan has been revised over several weeks after Ukraine and European countries criticized the initial draft for being overly favorable to Russia.
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“Everything is not perfect yet, but we now have a plan,” Zelensky said. The talks also include discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future military aggression from Moscow once the conflict ends, as well as a post-war economic recovery plan for the country.
“The core elements of all the documents have been completed. These are the fundamental issues,” Zelensky added. “However, there are still some matters we are not ready to finalize, and I am certain that Russia also has issues it is not ready to address.”
In a video address later the same day, Zelensky said the key question is whether the United States can obtain a response from Russia, and whether Moscow is genuinely prepared to shift its focus away from military action.
He stressed that maintaining pressure on the Kremlin remains essential to weakening Russia’s battlefield capabilities. Measures such as lowering Russian oil prices, imposing stronger global sanctions, and applying continuous pressure could influence even the most hardline decision-makers, he said.
The Ukrainian negotiating team, led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, along with European representatives, has recently held multiple meetings with U.S. envoys, including a meeting in Florida last weekend.
Meanwhile, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev also held separate talks with U.S. officials in Florida. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on December 22 that the peace negotiation process remains “rather slow.”