Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the peace plan drawn up by Ukraine and the United States in Geneva could be expanded into “deeper agreements” as efforts continue to end the Ukraine crisis.
In an address on Tuesday, Zelensky said he had reviewed the revised plan with Ukraine’s negotiating team. “The principles in this document can be developed into deeper agreements. And it is in our shared interest that security is real,” he said, expressing hope for continued close cooperation with the United States and President Donald Trump, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said Zelensky wanted to meet Trump to finalise a joint agreement on the terms for ending the conflict, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Yermak said Ukrainian and US negotiators had reached agreement in principle on most aspects of the US-proposed peace plan, which has been substantially revised from the original 28-point American proposal. However, he noted that Zelensky intends to negotiate territorial issues directly with Trump.
The latest round of talks took place on Sunday in Geneva, where representatives from the United States, Ukraine and several European countries met as Washington pushed for consensus on the 28-point framework. After a meeting between the Ukrainian delegation and national security advisers from Britain, France and Germany, Ukrainian officials held bilateral discussions with the US side.
Zelensky’s office said the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva was led by Yermak. The US team reportedly included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
A joint statement issued by the White House on Sunday night said the Geneva talks between US representatives and Ukrainian officials had made “meaningful progress toward aligning positions” on the peace plan.
(Inputs from IANS)