Moscow is ready for a “substantive discussion” of all details of the US peace plan for Ukraine and to “resolve problems by peaceful means.” That’s how Vladimir Putin responded to a draft agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war that has not been officially published and is, according to media reports, a joint effort by Putin’s special representative Kirill Dmitriev and the US President’s special representative Stephen Witkoff.
Putin noted that after recent contacts with the American side in Alaska, “a certain pause ensued,” which he said was linked to Ukraine rejecting the version previously presented by US President Donald Trump.
“That’s why a new edition appeared - a 28-point plan,” Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
He said the document is a “modernized version” of the agreement considered during his talks with Trump in Alaska. Putin said the United States asked Russia to make “certain compromises,” and he emphasized that Moscow is ready for peace talks.
At the same time, he said Russia is “satisfied with the current dynamics of hostilities.” According to him, Kupyansk had been under Russian control as of November 4. Ukraine’s military has not reported the city’s surrender.
“If Kyiv does not want to discuss President Trump’s proposals and rejects them, then it — and the European warmongers — must understand that the events that occurred in Kupyansk will inevitably be repeated on other key sections of the front,” Putin said.
The plan proposed by the United States includes several major concessions to Moscow that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. Among them are the transfer to Russia of all of Donbas, including areas Russia has been unable to capture. The document also envisions reducing the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, Ukraine renouncing NATO membership, a ban on foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine, and enshrining the country’s non-nuclear status. In return, Russia would receive phased sanctions relief and amnesty for war crimes.
On Thursday, November 20, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in a meeting in Kyiv with US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, said Ukrainian and US representatives would work through points of a plan to end the war, and that he expects to discuss “available diplomatic options” with the US President in the coming days.
At the same time, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are preparing a counterproposal to the US plan. Key Ukrainian allies have criticized core elements of the American plan. European leaders say Ukraine’s armed forces must remain capable of defending its sovereignty, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point for any peace talks.
“We are working on a just and durable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners. Today we discussed the current situation and are very clear that nothing about Ukraine should be decided without Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
She added that the next steps for European leaders will be their meeting tomorrow on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, followed by the European Union and African Union summit in Angola.
