Ukrainian President Zelenskyj held talks in Türkiye about peace in his country and called for new negotiations. Reports about alleged secret agreements between Washington and Moscow are a topic of discussion.
Against the backdrop of serious Russian attacks that left 25 people dead and more than 90 injured in western Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj held talks in Ankara about resuming negotiations with Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also urged continued diplomatic efforts.
New negotiations in Istanbul are important given the “extremely exhausting impact of the war on both sides,” Erdoğan said at a joint press conference. Ukraine hopes “in Türkiye’s diplomatic strength and that it will be understood in Moscow,” Zelensky said. Kiev is also seeking to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia later this year.
Zelensky said he had traveled to Türkiye to discuss efforts to revive peace talks. Erdoğan has hosted peace negotiations on several occasions.
Report about US-Russia Agreement
Meanwhile, according to media reports, President Donald Trump’s US leadership has developed a new plan with Moscow to end the war – but without Ukraine’s participation. The plan demands major concessions from the attacked country, the Financial Times reported: Ukraine must completely evacuate the contested Donetsk and Luhansk regions and accept limits on its weapons. The newspaper quoted people involved in the conversation process.
The AFP news agency reports that the US has submitted a new proposal to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian representative confirmed this.
Washington news portal Axios reported that the plan was negotiated in late October by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Moscow representative Kirill Dmitriev. Based on information, Witkoff is said to have informed the Chairman of Ukraine’s Security Council, Rustem Umyerov, about the plan.
Nothing new from Moscow
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no new proposals to end the war between Russia and America. What Kremlin leaders Vladimir Putin and Trump discussed at their summit in Alaska in August still stands. According to the Financial Times, the new plan largely meets Russia’s demands for Kiev.
Like Trump’s peace initiative for Gaza, Qatar and Türkiye are also said to be involved in Ukraine’s plans, according to Axios. At today’s meeting with Zelensky, Erdoğan did not comment specifically on this. Ukraine’s president, on the other hand, said only that “many processes are active.”
Merz talks about “war of terror”
According to Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Germany is not aware of any alleged secret talks between the US and Russia regarding the Ukraine peace plan. Wadephul told journalists they were “not briefed” on the 28-point plan reported by US media.
He referred to “the ongoing efforts of all international partners to finally ensure that President Putin is present at the negotiating table.” This is also how he understands the “joint meeting” currently taking place in Istanbul “and everything that is heading in this direction,” Wadephul added and emphasized: “Of course we support that.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly criticized Russia’s increasing attacks on Ukraine. Russia is in the process of doing massive damage to civilian infrastructure and especially energy infrastructure in Ukraine. “This no longer has anything to do with military objectives. This is purely a war of terror against the Ukrainian civilian population,” Merz said.
German support must be increased
With a view to coordinating with France and the UK, but also with the EU, Merz said that they want to do everything to improve Ukraine’s air defense. He also called on European partners to reach an agreement on the use of Russian assets by December. “This is our strongest force to bring Moscow to the negotiating table and end this terrible war in the long term,” he said.
The chancellor confirmed that the federal government wants to increase financial support for Ukraine’s military by three billion euros next year, also in the interests of its own security. In return, it is hoped that Ukraine will remain a reliable and reliable partner.
“It also means draconian action against corruption. That is an absolute must in Ukraine,” he said. He said that to Ukrainian President Zelensky “twice, once in person and once in a telephone conversation in the last few days.”
