Putin says U.S. plan for Ukraine could form the basis for a final peace settlement

"Earlier Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address that his country is at a pivotal point in its four-year fight to defeat Russia's invasion, with Ukrainians potentially facing a choice between standing up for their sovereign rights or losing American support as leaders negotiate a U.S. peace proposal. The U.S. plan contains many of Putin's longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine."

"Putin said Moscow had received the plan, which he called "a new version" and "a modernized plan," which he said "could form the basis for a final peace settlement." "But this text has not been discussed with us in any substantive way, and I can guess why," Putin said in Moscow. "The U.S. administration has so far been unable to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow received a new U.S. peace proposal and called it a modernized plan that could form the basis for a final peace settlement, while noting the text had not been substantively discussed with Moscow. Putin blamed Ukraine and its European allies for rejecting the plan, accusing them of hoping for a strategic battlefield defeat of Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine faces a pivotal choice and has repeatedly ruled out ceding territory. The U.S. plan includes many of Putin's demands, envisions territorial concessions, limits Ukraine's army and offers limited security guarantees, and U.S. leaders pressed for a timely Ukrainian response.

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