Zelensky said he had asked Witkoff and Kushner to pass along Christmas greetings to US President Donald Trump “and the entire Trump family”.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin said it was analysing proposals brought back from the US by a Russian envoy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Trump and his envoys have been holding talks with both Ukraine and Russia in an effort to reach a deal to end the war which was started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n
There appears to have been some progress in recent days with Ukraine’s president praising the “good ideas” put forward by Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Kushner.<\/p>\n
Zelensky said it had been an “active day” for his country’s diplomacy, as he went into details with the US envoys.<\/p>\n
He conceded that there was still “work to be done on sensitive issues” but added that “together with the American team, we understand how to put all of this in place”.<\/p>\n
Zelensky added that the Ukrainian negotiator, Rustem Umerov, would speak again to the two envoys soon.<\/p>\n
The 20-point peace plan agreed by the US and Ukraine is seen as an update to a plan drafted by Witkoff and Russian negotiators weeks ago, which was widely seen as heavily geared towards Russia’s demands.<\/p>\n
Describing the updated proposal on Wednesday, Zelensky had said it offered Russia the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east and the creation of a demilitarised zone in their place.<\/p>\n
He said the plan now included security guarantees from the US, Nato and Europeans for a co-ordinated military response if Russia invaded Ukraine again.<\/p>\n
On the key question of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Zelensky said a “free economic zone” was a potential option. Any area that Ukrainian troops pulled out of would have to be policed by Ukraine, he stressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was analysing the proposals brought back from the US by the Russian envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.<\/p>\n
“We are analysing what Dmitriev passed on to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. We are examining this material, and depending on the decisions made by the head of state, we will continue our communication with the Americans,” he said.<\/p>\n
While diplomatic efforts to end the conflict inch forward, fighting continues on the ground. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck one of Russia’s key oil refineries in the southern region of Rostov with cruise missiles. <\/p>\n
The Novoshakhtinsk refinery near the Ukrainian border is critical for supplying fuel for Russian military operations in occupied eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Sviato-Pokrovske in the Donetsk region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Zelensky #hails #ideas #peace #talk #envoys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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