Zelensky: ‘General consensus’ reached with US on Ukraine peace plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kiev and Washington have reached a “general consensus” on parts of a US-backed framework aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia, while acknowledging that the most critical issues remain unresolved.

Speaking on Tuesday about a 20-point plan agreed upon by US and Ukrainian negotiators in Florida over the weekend, Zelensky confirmed that talks on control of eastern Ukraine and the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had stalled and would need to be resolved at the leaders’ level.

“These are the most difficult points,” Zelensky told reporters as he briefed journalists on each point of the plan, with his comments embargoed until Wednesday morning.

The draft plan, developed during discussions between US envoys and Ukrainian officials, proposes freezing the current front line and transforming contested areas in eastern Ukraine into demilitarized or “free economic zones.”

“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelensky stated, referring to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“But we have significantly brought most other positions closer together,” he added.

Russia, which controls most of Luhansk and around 70 percent of Donetsk, has insisted that Ukraine fully withdraw from the remaining parts of the Donbas in return for a peace deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Moscow would secure full control of eastern Ukraine by force if Kiev refuses to pull back.

Washington has proposed turning disputed territories into free economic zones, an idea Zelensky described as an attempt to bridge irreconcilable positions.

“We are in a situation where the Russians want us to leave the Donetsk region, and the Americans are trying to find a way so that it is ‘not a way out’ — because we are against leaving,” he said.

“There are two options,” Zelensky added. “Either the war continues, or something will have to be decided regarding all potential economic zones.”

Another major sticking point is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which remains under Russian control.

The United States has proposed joint management involving Ukraine, Russia, and the US, but Kiev has rejected the plan.

“How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” Zelensky said, disputing the proposal.

The US-backed framework also proposes providing Ukraine with what Washington describes as “strong” security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5, while allowing Kiev to maintain a peacetime military of up to 800,000 troops.

US offers Ukraine 'strong' security guarantees amid unsettled territorial row

Washington has offered to provide Kiev with NATO-style security guarantees following reported progress in peace talks to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Zelensky, however, said that the proposed guarantees fall short of NATO membership and rely instead on monitoring mechanisms and future bilateral commitments.

He noted that a separate agreement with Washington would outline these guarantees, meaning they are not currently included in the draft.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that President Putin had been briefed on contacts with US envoys regarding a possible peace deal and that Moscow would now formulate its position.

“All the main parameters of the Russian side’s position are well known to our colleagues from the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin has repeatedly said that Russia’s conditions for peace include Ukraine ceding the roughly 5,000 square kilometers of the Donbas it still controls and formally abandoning its bid to join the NATO military alliance.

Zelensky has previously indicated that he could drop Ukraine’s NATO aspirations in exchange for Western security guarantees.

Putin has repeatedly said Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership posed a direct threat to Russia’s security and was a reason for launching the “special military operation” by Moscow in Ukraine in February 2022.

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