US wants Russia and Ukraine to end war by summer, Zelensky says

The US wants Russia and Ukraine to find a solution on how to end the war, the largest since World War 2, before summer, says President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In remarks to reporters released by his office on Saturday, Zelensky said Washington had proposed a new round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow to take place in Miami in a week, and Kyiv had agreed to that.

“The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war before the start of this summer and will probably pressure the parties to adhere to this schedule. The [mid-term congressional] elections are definitely more important to them. Let’s not be naive. And they say they want to get everything done by June.”

Zelensky’s statement confirmed an earlier Reuters report on the proposed timing for a deal. Ukraine had suggested a sequencing plan, Zelensky said, but provided no specific details.

Ukraine and Russia concluded two days of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week without a major breakthrough, but the two sides agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war (POWs) each, resuming such swaps after a five-month pause. Zelensky said the POW swap would continue.

The military teams discussed in detail technical aspects of how to monitor a potential ceasefire. Security guarantees for Ukraine and agreements on economic co-operation, referred to by officials as “the prosperity plan” that outlined Ukraine’s postwar recovery, were also discussed.

Zelensky said he had reports from his intelligence services on discussions in which Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev proposed co-operation deals between Russia and the US worth $12-trillion (R192.38-trillion). He said any such bilateral agreements between Russia and the US could not violate the Ukrainian constitution.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies