President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with US negotiators reportedly began in Berlin, amid increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump on Ukraine to reach a deal, UNN reports, citing Le Monde and AFP.
Details
The meeting, which a senior Ukrainian official announced to AFP, takes place on the second day of talks aimed at ending the war with Russia. On Sunday, Zelenskyy and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held more than five hours of talks in Berlin to find a solution to the conflict caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On Sunday evening, after the first round of negotiations, US envoy Steve Witkoff stated that "significant progress" had been made. But German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that it was necessary to wait until "the end of the week" to learn the results of the discussions. He once again pointed to the responsibility of the Kremlin head Vladimir Putin for ending the war he started in February 2022.
As AFP notes, Sunday's meeting took place under heightened security at the Chancellor's residence in Berlin, where German leader Friedrich Merz was scheduled to host a dinner on Monday with Zelenskyy, a group of European leaders, and NATO and EU chiefs.
An AFP photographer saw the Ukrainian leader leaving the Chancellor's residence shortly before 9:00 PM local time (10:00 PM Kyiv time).
Trump has pushed for an end to the war, but "Kyiv and its allies in Europe are doing everything possible to prevent any settlement that would be significantly more favorable to Russia," the publication writes.
"Key questions remain regarding Ukraine's territorial concessions, future security guarantees for Kyiv, and whether Moscow will agree to any proposal developed by Europeans and Americans," the publication states.
Zelenskyy, on his way to Germany, stated that he was ready for "dialogue" on ending the war. He said he hoped Washington would support the idea of freezing the front line where it is, rather than Ukraine ceding all of Donbas, as Moscow demands.
"Trump has been increasing pressure on Ukraine to reach a deal since the release last month of a plan to end the war, which was criticized as echoing Moscow's demands," the publication states.
Ukrainian officials said before the talks that they had sent a revised version to Washington. Witkoff said that "in-depth discussions" on this plan, "the economic agenda, and more" took place on Sunday.
Zelenskyy said on Sunday: "The most important thing is that the plan is as fair as possible, first of all for Ukraine, because Russia started the war."
Europeans and Ukrainians have asked the United States to provide them with "security guarantees" before Ukraine negotiates any territorial concessions, France said on Friday.
Under the latest US plan, Ukraine could join the EU as early as January 2027, a senior official familiar with the matter told AFP on Friday on condition of anonymity.