A United States document on security guarantees for Ukraine is completely ready and Kyiv is waiting for a time and place for it to be signed, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, indicating weekend talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi made some progress.
“For us, security guarantees are first and foremost guarantees of security from the United States. The document is 100 per cent ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place when we will sign it,” Mr Zelenskiy told a news conference during a visit to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
“The document will then be sent for ratification to the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament,” he said.
On Friday and Saturday, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held their first trilateral meeting, including US mediators in Abu Dhabi, to discuss Washington’s framework for ending the almost four-year-old war, but no deal emerged.
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However, Moscow and Kyiv both said they were open to further dialogue, and more discussions were expected next Sunday in Abu Dhabi, a US official told reporters immediately after the weekend talks.
“[In Abu Dhabi] the 20-point plan and problematic issues are being discussed. There were many problematic issues, but now there are fewer,” Mr Zelenskiy said.
He said Moscow wants to do everything possible to get Ukraine to abandon eastern regions Moscow has been unable to capture since its full-scale invasion that triggered the war. But Kyiv, he said, has not budged from its position that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be upheld.
“These are two fundamentally different positions: Ukraine’s and Russia’s. The Americans are trying to find a compromise,” said Mr Zelenskiy, adding that all sides must be prepared to compromise, including the Americans.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will never discuss anything with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. And so Moscow will simply wait for her to leave her post.
“How can you discuss anything with Kaja Kallas? We will never discuss anything with her, nor will the Americans discuss anything with her, and that is obvious. What can we do? We just have to wait until she leaves,” said Mr Peskov on Sunday.
More than 1,300 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were still without heating following a Russian missile and drone attack earlier this week, said Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko.
Russia has sharply intensified bombardments of Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022. It launched a vast attack on the energy system on Saturday, rocking Kyiv with explosions overnight and leaving 1.2 million properties without power nationwide during sub-zero winter temperatures.
“Russia’s main targets right now are our energy sector, critical infrastructure, and residential buildings,” said Mr Zelenskiy on X. This week alone, he added, Russia launched more than 1,700 attack drones, more than1,380 guided aerial bombs and 69 missiles on Ukraine.
Every Congressttack by Russia could have a devastating impact, he said.
“We are working with every leader to strengthen Ukraine. Everyone must clearly understand the threat coming from Russia,” he said. – Reuters
