Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to advance a peace framework backed by the United States, marking a major shift in the diplomatic effort to end the war with Russia. The statement came after Kyiv and Washington said their delegations had reached a common understanding on the ‘core terms’ of the deal during talks in Geneva over the weekend.
Zelenskyy stressed that discussions on the remaining ‘sensitive points’ must include European allies and safeguard Ukraine’s interests. ‘We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe,’ he said according to Reuters. He reiterated Ukraine’s demand for a reassurance force and sustained allied support so long as Moscow shows no intent to end the war.
In a post on X on Tuesday night, Zelenskyy said that he counts on ‘continued active cooperation’ with the Americans and US President Donald Trump, with reports emerging that Zelenskyy is to meet Trump in the coming days to finalize the agreement. ‘Much depends on the United States because it’s America’s strength that Russia takes most seriously,’ he stressed.
Trump expressed optimism that the deal is within reach, saying only ‘a few remaining points of disagreement’ stand in the way. ‘We’re going to get there,’ he wrote on social media on Tuesday. He said he had directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and his Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, to meet at the same time with Ukrainian officials. ‘I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final or in its final stages,’ Trump concluded.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday morning that the Kremlin has yet to see a draft of the agreement discussed between the US and Ukraine in Geneva.
Media reports emerged last week on a new American proposal to end the war in Ukraine. The originally 28-point plan included a comprehensive peace and stability framework in which Ukraine would formally affirm its sovereignty but accept major concessions: recognition of Crimea and the entire Donbas region (including Luhansk and Donetsk) as Russian-controlled, with the frontline in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia frozen in place.
In return, Ukraine would accept a capped military force (reportedly around 600,000 troops), renounce joining NATO by constitution, establish demilitarized buffer zones, and surrender certain strategic prerogatives—while the US and European partners would provide new security guarantees, oversee reconstruction using frozen Russian-asset funds, and facilitate a phased reintegration of Russia into the global economy, subject to the re-imposition of sanctions in case of violations.
European leaders have put forward a counter-proposal to the US draft peace framework for Ukraine that emphasizes stronger protections for Ukrainian sovereignty, drops clauses obliging Ukraine to abandon its NATO ambitions, and raises the cap on its peacetime military to approximately 800,000 personnel. However, Moscow swiftly rejected this European version—Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser at the Kremlin, called it ‘completely unconstructive’ and said it ‘does not work for us.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed Trump’s plan last week, praising the US president’s determination towards ending the conflict. He warned European counterparts not to undermine peace efforts. Western media reports indicated on Tuesday that Orbán is visiting Moscow on Friday to meet Vladimir Putin; however, Budapest did not confirm the trip, saying it would inform the public about Orbán’s programme in due time.
‘Western media reports indicated on Tuesday that Orbán is visiting Moscow on Friday to meet Vladimir Putin’
Orbán’s possible trip to Moscow would indicate that the Budapest peace summit, announced by Trump in October and later delayed due to the Russian side’s unwillingness to compromise, could finally take place. After declaring he would not meet Putin in the Hungarian capital, both Trump, Russian and Hungarian officials repeatedly said that the summit remains on the table; only the date is undecided. Zelenskyy also said at the time that he is ready to meet Putin in Budapest. Trump signalled on Tuesday that he will meet Zelenskyy and Putin—though it is not clear whether jointly or separately—only when negotiations are in their final stage. That meeting could be the Budapest Summit.
The political director of the Hungarian prime minister, Balázs Orbán, welcomed developments on Tuesday, stating that Hungary trusts that the American peace efforts will be ‘successful as soon as possible’ and that the senseless war that has been going on for four years in our neighbourhood will come to an end.
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