Peskov says dialogue will continue after Ukraine and European allies modify Zelensky’s 20-point proposal.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has resumed contacts with the United States after reviewing a revised 20-point peace plan modified by Ukraine and its European allies.

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“On instructions from President Vladimir Putin, contact took place between representatives of the Russian and U.S. governments,” Peskov said, adding that Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov took part in the talks.

Peskov said the Kremlin’s envoy for Ukraine, Kirill Dmitriev, briefed Putin on the results of his trip to the U.S. and said the parties agreed to continue the dialogue.

So far, however, neither Putin nor any senior Russian official has made public comments on the 20-point peace proposal presented this week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In fact, Peskov again insisted that any comments to the press could “negatively affect the progress of the negotiating process.”

A week ago, during his annual news conference, Putin said he had never rejected the plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump and added that “the ball is in the court” of Kiev and its allies. He demanded the Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas and said that respect for Russian security interests is the only way to avoid future special military operations in Europe.

On Friday, Axios reported that Trump is preparing to receive Zelensky on Sunday at his Florida residence. Previously, the Ukrainian president said earlier that “a lot can be decided well before the New Year.”

According to the Zelensky, the 20-point plan proposes a nonaggression pact between Russia and Ukraine, which would be overseen by a monitoring mechanism and grounded in a series of security guarantees.

These would include a Ukrainian army of 800,000 troops and binding agreements under which the United States and other allies would commit to providing defense equivalent to NATO’s Article 5.

Regarding the territorial concessions demanded by Russia, Zelensky acknowledged that there are currently two options on the table, with Kiev favoring the first one, which would involve freezing the current front line.

The second option would involve the creation of one or more economic zones in the part of the Donetsk region still controlled by Ukraine but claimed by Russia, an idea that would only be considered after Kiev has received sufficient security guarantees.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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