Today's Edition
WASHINGTON/KYIV (REUTERS)
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday Ukraine was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies.
In a speech to what are known as the coalition of the willing allies, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Zelensky urged European leaders to hash out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to keep backing Kyiv.
US and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow the gaps between them over Trump's plan to end Europe's deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War Two.
“We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe... Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk it simply won’t work,” Zelensky said, according to his speech text.
“That framework is on the table, and we're ready to move forward together - with the USA, with the personal engagement of President Trump,” he added.
Trump told a White House event on Tuesday he thought a deal on Ukraine was getting close but gave no other details, saying only: “We're going to get there.”
Zelensky could visit the US in the next few days to finalise a deal with Trump, Kyiv's national security chief Rustem Umerov said earlier on Tuesday, though there was no immediate confirmation of such a trip from the US side.
US and Ukrainian negotiators held talks on the latest US-backed peace plan in Geneva on Sunday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X that over the past week, the US had made “tremendous progress toward a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table.”
She added: “There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.”
