The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has presented in detail the 20 points of the peace plan that kyiv and Washington have developed to achieve peace with Russia.
In a conversation with journalists on Tuesday, December 23, which Ukrainian media reported a day later, Zelensky reiterated that White House emissaries have already conveyed the aforementioned plan to the Kremlin envoy. The next contacts between Washington and Moscow are expected to take place on Wednesday, December 24.
NATO and territorial issues
Zelensky assured that the new version of the United States plan to end the war with Russia does not require Ukraine to formally renounce membership in NATO, which was a major demand from Moscow. “It will be NATO that will decide whether or not it wants to welcome Ukraine among its members. And our decision has been made. We have given up modifying the Ukrainian Constitution to write in it that the country will not join NATO,” Zelensky explained.
In addition, the Ukrainian president said that the US and Ukrainian negotiating teams failed to agree on long-term territorial issues. “We have not reached a consensus with the American side regarding the territory of the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” he said. “We are willing to meet with the United States at the leadership level to address sensitive issues,” he added. On the other hand, the president reiterated his willingness to reach a territorial compromise in Donbas, one of the points that remain open.
Referendum in Ukraine to approve the plan
If Russia were to accept the new peace plan, it could either be put to a referendum, which could be held at the same time as a presidential election, or sent to the Ukrainian parliament for ratification.
“Ukraine will submit this agreement to be ratified by Parliament (…) and/or hold a national referendum for approval with the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ format. Ukraine could decide to hold elections simultaneously with the referendum,” he commented. He also reported that the security guarantees provided for by the plan can only come into force if the agreement is ratified in a binding manner or approved by referendum.
ms (afp/efe)
