"They said the proposal reportedly drafted by Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was a provocation, the aim of which was to stir up division and disorientate Ukraine's allies, they added. There are currently no signs that the Kremlin is ready for serious negotiations. Putin is trying to stall for time and avoid US sanctions, Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's foreign policy parliamentary committee, said."
"It envisages Ukraine giving up the northern part of the Donbas region, which it controls, to Russia, and cutting the size of its army in half. Ukraine would also be forced to relinquish its long-range weapons, used to strike military targets inside Russia. No foreign troops would be allowed on Ukrainian soil, a condition that rules out a post-deal peacekeeping force led by the UK and France. But the US would provide unspecified security guarantees, according to Axios."
A US-Russian peace proposal reportedly drafted by Kirill Dmitriev and Steve Witkoff would require Ukraine to cede the northern Donbas region, cut its army in half, relinquish long-range weapons, ban foreign troops on its soil, and grant formal status to the Russian language and Russian Orthodox Church. Kyiv officials called the initiative absurd, unacceptable, and a provocation designed to sow division and panic. Kyiv was not consulted and European diplomats learned about the plan from news reports. Ukrainian leaders said the Kremlin shows no signs of readiness to negotiate and accused Putin of stalling to avoid US sanctions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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