President Volodymyr Zelensky, who previously spoke of some progress in negotiations to establish peace in Ukraine after the first trilateral meeting of Ukrainian, American, and Russian delegations, did not rule out that the war could end in less than a year.
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At the same time, Moscow has put forward tougher demands regarding the future status of Donbas at peace talks in Abu Dhabi, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a so-called “Western source.”
According to the agency's interlocutor, during the negotiations the parties are discussing economic issues, territorial settlement, as well as possible ceasefire mechanisms.
At the same time, the source claims, Russia has expanded its demands: it is not only about the transfer of control over Donbass, but also about the international recognition of this region as Russian. According to TASS, the Kremlin considers such recognition as one of the key points of a potential large-scale agreement and considers it “extremely important.”
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In addition, the agency's interlocutor noted that possible security guarantees for Ukraine following the negotiations may not involve the deployment of classic peacekeeping forces, but the involvement of multinational rapid response units.
Previously, Russia has repeatedly called the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire territory of Donbas a mandatory condition for ending the war. Ukraine categorically rejects such demands.
According to sources, the Ukrainian and American sides were considering alternative options — in particular, the deployment of neutral peacekeeping forces in part of the Donetsk region or the creation of a demilitarized zone.
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Moscow, for its part, rejects any scenarios for resolving the territorial issue that do not correspond to the agreements allegedly reached between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a summit in Alaska last summer. According to these statements, Ukraine would have to cede the occupied territories to Russia.
It should be noted that President Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev stated that there is progress in the peace talks. “We see that there is definitely progress and good, positive movement forward,” Dmitriev said, commenting on the progress of the talks.
We would like to remind you that Ukraine's position on resolving territorial issues within the framework of negotiations to end the war has not changed.
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