U.S.-led efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stepped up a gear in recent weeks, but Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory.
“The United States has proposed for the first time that the two negotiating teams—Ukraine and Russia—meet in the United States, probably in Miami, in a week’s time,” Zelensky told reporters in comments made public in the early hours of February 7th.
The U.S. has mediated two rounds of negotiations between the two sides in Abu Dhabi since January, brokering a major prisoner exchange but failing to reach a breakthrough on territory.
Russia, which occupies around 20% of its neighbor, is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal and has threatened to take it by force if talks fail.
Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines. Russia has rejected this, and Washington has instead pushed for Kyiv to convert the land it currently controls in the Donetsk region into a “free economic zone” where neither side has military control.
“Even if we come to the creation of a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules,” Zelensky said. Ukraine will not tolerate Russia and the United States making deals about Ukraine behind its back, he added.
