Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that negotiations held with the United States and European countries aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia are “very close to a real outcome.”
Ukrainian negotiators, led by senior official Rustem Umerov, along with European representatives, conducted a series of meetings with American envoys, including discussions held in recent days in Florida, reports the news agency Reuters.
Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, an investment envoy for President Vladimir Putin, was also conducting separate talks with U.S. officials in Florida.
Officials in Ukraine and Russia said that their teams were returning to their respective countries on Monday to report on the outcome of the discussions.
“It all looks quite promising… and it’s important that this is the work of both sides (Ukraine) and the United States. This suggests that we are very close to a real outcome,” Zelensky said at an event dedicated to Ukrainian diplomats.
Zelensky stated that the negotiators have been working on a 20-point plan, advanced by American envoys, which has been under discussion for weeks after an initial draft was criticized by Ukrainians and Europeans for being too favorable to Russia.
The discussions also included security guarantees requested by Ukraine to protect against any future Russian military action after the war ends, as well as a plan for Ukraine’s economic recovery.
“The core block of all the documents is ready. It is a basis. There are some issues for which we are not yet prepared, and I am sure there are issues for which the Russians are not prepared either,” the Ukrainian president said.
Later, in his usual evening address, Zelensky noted that a key issue is whether the United States will be able “to get a response from Russia, true readiness on the part of that country to focus on something other than aggression.”
