US continues to pressure Ukraine to withdraw its armed forces from Donbas without fight in order to achieve "peace" with Russia, - Politico
In negotiations on a potential "peace agreement" in the Russian-Ukrainian war, the United States insists that Kyiv must agree to withdraw from the Donetsk region without a fight.
This was reported by Politico, citing sources in Europe, according to Censor.NET.
Pressure on territorial issues
"Peace talks between the US and Ukraine have run into one major problem: how to get Ukraine to give up what the Kremlin failed to capture during the war — the entire Donbas region," the publication notes.
The article quotes details from an anonymous European official that the US continues to insist in the negotiations that Ukraine should agree to the demand to hand over the rest of the Donetsk region, which is not yet under occupation, to Russian control.
"On territorial issues, the American position is simple: Russia demands that Ukraine cede territory, and the Americans are still thinking about how to achieve this... The Americans insist that Ukraine must leave Donbas one way or another," the interlocutor said.
Terms of "peace"
At the same time, Ukraine insists that any peace agreement must include a freeze on the war along the current front line.
Ukrainian negotiators are trying to convey to the US that if dictator Putin is given what the Russian army has failed to capture at great cost over the years of war, it will only whet his appetite.
The publication also states that Ukraine is feeling pressure over how quickly the US wants to move towards peace.
"Perhaps Trump wants this to happen quickly, and his team is forced to explain to him why they are not to blame for the fact that it is not happening as quickly as he wanted. It is important how America will act – as a mediator or leaning towards Russia," said the European interlocutor.
He adds that the Ukrainian side also expects more clarity on what security guarantees the US is prepared to offer.
What preceded it?
- Earlier it was reported that on Saturday, 6 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a two-hour telephone conversation with Donald Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
- The conversation focused on territorial issues and security guarantees for Ukraine.
