As part of the negotiations, Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region within two months, and threatens to change its demands if this does not happen. This was stated by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
“They are telling the American side: Now there are new deadlines – in two months they will seize the east of our state, they will seize Donbass. So Ukraine has two months to leave. And then the war will end. If Ukraine does not leave, Russia will seize Donbass, and then there will be other conditions,” Zelensky claims.
The President of Ukraine expressed the opinion that the Russian Federation would not actually be able to do this and that Moscow “understands this.”
The status of Donbass is a major issue in the trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Representatives of the parties have repeatedly made it clear that they have reached a compromise on almost all other issues.
Due to the US-Israel war with Iran, official negotiations have been temporarily halted, with US President’s Special Representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner now mainly engaged in resolving the conflict in the Middle East. At the same time, bilateral contacts between the Americans, Ukrainians and Russians are maintained.