Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is prepared for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha says.
Sybiha confirmed Zelensky’s readiness to meet Putin to address the most sensitive issues in the peace process, Evropeyska Pravda report.
Discussing talks in Abu Dhabi, Sybiha said Zelensky is ready to personally discuss with Putin the question of territory and the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“It’s very important that the American side remains in the process,” he said. According to him, talks have made progress that opened the door to a trilateral format involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
The foreign minister noted there were also contacts in Abu Dhabi between members of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
“The negotiations are very difficult, but we can state a qualitative change in the composition of the Russian delegation. These are different people now, and those pseudo-historical lectures were gone. The conversations were very focused,” Sybiha said.
Special attention, he added, was given to talks among representatives of the military bloc, including military intelligence and the General Staff.
“There were substantive discussions about the parameters of a ceasefire or truce, and about procedures for monitoring or verifying a truce,” the minister explained.
Sybiha said he sees no need for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, adding that creating “parallel tracks” in the peace process is not timely.
The minister confirmed that Ukraine is counting on signing a 20-point peace plan, but only if all provisions are agreed.
“As you know, the most sensitive issues remain unresolved,” Sybiha noted, specifying that these are territory and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“Yes, those two. The president is ready to meet with Putin to resolve them and discuss this,” the foreign minister said. He emphasized that Russia remains an obstacle to the peace process.
Sybiha also clarified details regarding the U.S. peace plan.
“Speaking specifically about this 20-point framework, right now it is a bilateral document to be signed by the United States and Ukraine. And with Russia, the United States should be the signatory. At the moment, that’s the structure under discussion, but talks continue—it’s a process,” he said.
At the same time, the minister underscored the participation of Ukraine’s European partners in the peace process and in shaping security guarantees.
“It’s important that, for the first time, we’re talking specifically about the term ‘security guarantees,’” Sybiha noted. He added it is crucial to make those guarantees legally binding, including ratification by the U.S. Congress.
The minister also addressed the presence of foreign troops as part of a future security architecture.
“Yes, American troops won’t be there. But some European partners confirm their contingent. Of course, this is only possible with an American backstop,” Sybiha explained.
He said the presence of Western military personnel is an important factor not only for security but also for the country’s economic recovery.
Sybiha also called for a strong deterrence package that would clearly spell out the consequences for Russia if it violates the peace.
