Russia still not ready to discuss any form of ceasefire, Ukraine not ready to cede territory – ABC News
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has made it clear he will not compromise on a "peace deal", believing he is making sufficient progress on the battlefield and is prepared to wait until Ukraine agrees to what he calls his "fair conditions".
As Censor.NET reports, ABC News sources said this when commenting on the talks in Abu Dhabi and Florida.
The Kremlin will not agree to peace
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is to travel to Moscow on 1 December to present Putin with a proposed peace plan, in what is expected to be a crucial test of the Trump administration’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff is heading to meet Putin the day after taking part in talks in Florida with a high-level Ukrainian delegation, which aimed to find a deal to end the war that both Ukraine and Russia could accept.
"Few expect Putin to agree to a deal. The Russian leader has already made clear he will not compromise, delivering tough remarks last week in which he repeated his demands that Ukraine withdraw from territories he claims and called talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘pointless’. He has signalled that the Kremlin believes it is making enough progress on the battlefield and is ready to wait until Kyiv accepts his terms," the outlet recalls.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, after taking part in talks with Ukraine, that the next steps in the negotiations are "sensitive", adding that "this is difficult, there are many moving parts".
The issue of territories
An ABC News source familiar with the talks said the parties had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of billions of dollars’ worth of Russian assets frozen by Western countries, and possible elections in Ukraine. According to the source, the issue of frozen assets was "key" for the Russians.
However, there was no progress on the crucial issue of Russia’s demand that Ukraine hand over non-occupied territory in the Donbas.
"Russia is still not ready to discuss any form of ceasefire, and Ukraine is not prepared to cede territory," the source stressed.
Rubio said the talks had been "very productive and helpful, with additional progress made".
On Monday, Zelenskyy said preliminary reports from his team appeared to show that Sunday’s meeting had been "very constructive". "There are some difficult issues that still need to be resolved," he added.
Talks in Florida
- Earlier, it was reported that NSDC Secretary and head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov and his team were already on their way to the United States.
- On Sunday, 30 November, representatives of the United States and Ukraine are to meet in Florida to continue talks on an agreement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- Axios wrote that at the 30 November meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Miami, the United States wants to reach understandings on two issues – territory and security guarantees.
- It was later reported that talks between the US and Ukrainian delegations had begun in Miami.
