The United States wants Moscow and Kyiv to find a solution on how to end the war in Ukraine before summer, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
In remarks to reporters released by his office yesterday after Ukraine and Russia held two days of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi this week, Zelenskiy said Washington had proposed talks in Miami in a week, and that Kyiv had agreed to that.
Zelenskiy also criticised Russia over an overnight attack on Ukrainian energy facilities, saying in comments posted on X that Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold winter weather as leverage against Kyiv.
“The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war before the start of this summer, and will likely pressure the parties to adhere to this schedule,” Zelenskiy said.
“The (November mid-term US Congressional) elections are definitely more important to them. Let’s not be naive. And they say they want to get everything done by June.”
Reuters had earlier quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying US and Ukrainian negotiators had discussed how to secure a quick deal.
Ukraine had suggested a sequencing plan, Zelenskiy said, but he provided no specific details.
This week’s talks in Abu Dhabi concluded without a major breakthrough but Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war each, resuming such swaps after a five-month pause.
Zelenskiy said the POW swap would continue.
Yesterday, Zelenskiy met his negotiating team in Kyiv and posted a video of their meeting, saying he wanted more progress.
“Ukraine needs results, and one of the most important foundations for achieving lasting peace is effective security guarantees,” he said.
Washington has asked Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a new ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure as a de-escalation step during the talks, Zelenskiy said.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a one-week ceasefire.
Russia halted strikes on Ukraine’s power sector for a few days but unleashed a heavy new attack on Tuesday.
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