The United States just concluded two days of talks with Ukrainian and European negotiators in Berlin, followed by further talks among European leaders, all of which ended with positive signals about a future peace deal.
The talks focused on Ukraine’s security to deter future Russian aggression, an issue that remains a major sticking point in negotiations with Russia despite positive remarks. Another major hurdle is the future of Ukraine’s Donbas region, with Russia demanding Kiev cede control as a condition of the deal.
World leaders touted “significant progress” Monday night. Germany said the chances of reaching a deal anytime soon were small but realistic, and the idea of a truce over the Christmas period was floated, with US President Donald Trump saying: “We are closer than ever.” But what does the situation actually look like?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief negotiator Rustem Umerov met in the German capital with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US leader’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also attended the talks, where negotiators worked on the latest version of a U.S.-backed peace plan.
“This does not mean we have a perfect plan, but it is a very workable version,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Berlin. “Americans want quick resolutions. We care about maintaining quality even at this pace. If speed and quality match, then we’re fully on board.”
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that during the peace talks, “we worked in great detail with the United States on a document that could stop the war and guarantee security.” “Every detail matters, because there should be no details in return for Russian aggression,” he told the Dutch parliament in The Hague.
Five separate documents are currently being discussed in the proposed peace agreement. The documents include “legally binding” security guarantees to be voted on by the U.S. Congress, as well as plans to fund Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
The leaders of the European Union, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom met in Berlin for separate consultations, before pledging to work with the United States to “provide Ukraine with strong security and economic recovery support.”
The Kremlin said Tuesday it had not yet seen the text of its latest proposal for NATO-style security for Ukraine.
“We want peace,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about the feasibility of a “Christmas truce. We don’t want a truce to give Ukraine a breather and prepare for a continuation of the war. We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests and guarantee peace in Europe in the future.”
The commitments outlined in the European Joint Statement include:
A European-led “multinational force in Ukraine” with troop contributions from allies in the coalition and “support from the United States.” The force will support Ukraine’s air and sea security “including operations within Ukraine.”
The U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes international participation.
“We should significantly support the build-up of the Ukrainian military, and its peacetime strength should remain at 800,000 soldiers.”
Future investments in Ukraine include trade agreements and “making key resources available for recovery and reconstruction.” The statement added: “In this way, Russia’s sovereign assets within the European Union have been fixed.”
That’s the big question. The Kremlin said it opposes any scenario involving the deployment of NATO forces to Ukraine.
The Russian government has previously insisted that Ukraine enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO and that the Transatlantic Military Alliance’s troops will not be stationed within its borders. In November, Moscow also demanded that Kiev impose military troop restrictions.
U.S. officials claim that about 90% of the issues between Russia and Ukraine have been resolved, and say the issue of territorial concessions is a key sticking point.
A US official said the US side had presented “thought-provoking” ideas on how to resolve the impasse, including developing a free economic zone in parts of the Donbass region.
The U.S. negotiating team has proposed turning such a zone into a demilitarized zone, from which Ukraine would withdraw but Russian troops would not enter. But it is unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will back away from his extremist war goals to agree to this.
Ukraine has raised questions about who will control the zone and who will ensure that the withdrawal of troops is reciprocal.
“The United States is trying to find a compromise… I want to emphasize once again: ‘Free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation. These are essential features for me in any form regarding the Donbass,” President Zelenskiy said on Monday, adding that Ukraine does not recognize the temporarily occupied territories in the eastern part of the Donbass region, both legally and de facto, as Russian territory.
U.S. officials described security as “similar to Article 5,” referring to the NATO principle that an attack on one member state is considered an attack on all members. Officials did not go into details about what the U.S. role would entail, only saying it would not include U.S. military activity on the ground in Ukraine.
“Before we leave the battlefield, we need to be completely sure what these security measures are,” Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskyy continues to hold diplomatic talks and is scheduled to visit the Netherlands on Tuesday to discuss compensation from Russia for damage it caused during the war.
“The talks will not only be about a ceasefire, but also about security guarantees,” Zelenskiy said. “This is not just about physical security, but also about forcing Russia to finally learn to live by the rule of law. It only works if there is real accountability and punishment of the aggressors is inevitable.”
“Things seem to be going well on the surface, but we’ve been saying that for a long time, and it’s a difficult situation,” Trump said in a phone call to a European leaders’ dinner on Monday. He said the meeting was “very good” and that he had “long discussions” with Zelenskiy, noting that the United States was in contact with Putin.
“I think we’re closer now than we’ve ever been, and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office. “The problem is that they (Russia) want it to end and all of a sudden it’s not ending. And Ukraine wants to end it and all of a sudden it’s not ending. So we need to get them on the same page.”
CNN’s Christian Edwards, Victoria Butenko, Kevin Liptak and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
