As the talks on the Ukraine ceasefire proposal ended in Geneva without a breakthrough between the US, Ukraine and its alliance partners, the high-level delegation is expected to arrive in Moscow next week to proceed with further talks with Russia.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Kyiv and Washington delegations will meet this week to finalise details of a proposed ceasefire agreement with Russia.
Zelenskyy pointed out the progress in the Geneva talks, saying, “Our team, with American representatives, will meet at the end of this week to push for peace talks with Russia.” “The delegates will meet this week.
The Ukrainian delegation is well prepared and focused on meaningful work,” Zelenskyy added.The 28-page draft proposal demanded that Ukraine cede land to Russia, especially Donbas and Crimea, which were annexed by Russia in 2014. The demand also includes recognising Russian as a state language, along with downsizing the army and the denazification of Ukraine.
In response, Ukraine’s EU backers, particularly France, the UK, and Germany, have drafted a counterproposal that rivals the US one. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that Ukraine must maintain a well-equipped and well-manned armed force to uphold the ceasefire agreement with Russia.
The proposed 28-point ceasefire plan drafted by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin officials last week centred on reducing the size of the Ukrainian army to no more than 600,000 personnel. Meanwhile, the EU states have proposed increasing the troop’s number to 800,000, which is going to be funded by a $162-billion loan using frozen Russian financial assets, according to Merz.
