The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andriy Sybiha, told Reuters that only US President Donald Trump can stop Russia's war against Ukraine, UNN reports.
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"Only Trump can stop the war," Sybiha told Reuters in his office in Kyiv.
Of the 20-point peace plan that formed the basis of recent trilateral talks, only "a few" unresolved points remain, Sybiha said. "The most sensitive and most difficult ones that need to be resolved at the leadership level."
The publication notes that on key issues such as land, the two sides seem far apart. Russia continues to demand that Ukraine cede the remaining 20% of the eastern Donetsk region, which it failed to occupy during years of exhausting war, which Kyiv has resolutely refused. Ukraine also wants to gain control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – which is located in Russian-occupied territory.
There were no signs of a breakthrough during the second round of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week, although an exchange of 314 prisoners of war was completed on Thursday – the first such exchange since October. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Saturday that the US had proposed a new round of talks in Miami in a week, which Kyiv agreed to, Reuters adds.
"My assessment is that we have momentum, that's true," Sybiha said in an interview conducted on Friday. "We need to consolidate or mobilize these peace efforts, and we are ready to accelerate them."
US changes tactics in Ukraine negotiations - AP08.02.26, 06:30 • [views_26262]
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The media notes that almost four years after the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has occupied almost a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine occupied before the war, and has devastated power and heating networks with targeted bombings. Analysts say that on the battlefield, Russia has gained only about 1.3% of Ukraine's territory since the beginning of 2023.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Washington hopes the war can be ended by summer, and Ukraine has proposed an action plan, but he did not provide any details.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Ukrainian and American officials discussed a timeline that includes a draft agreement with Russia by March and a referendum on it in Ukraine along with elections in May.