U.S. hits back at Zelensky comments on Ukraine peace deal

Zelensky presents his wishes as reality. The US is against it
Photo: Al Jazeera

The U.S. has not tied security guarantees for Ukraine post-war on Kyiv giving up all of its eastern Donbas region, a U.S. official told Newsweek, contradicting recent comments made by Ukrainian Zelensky.

Zelensky told media the U.S. had said it would only finalize committments to protect Ukraine post-war "once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas".

The Kremlin has also not budged from its maximalist demands for any peace deal to give them full control of the two regions.

Zelensky's comments are "false", a U.S. official told Newsweek, in response to the Ukrainian leader's remarks published by the Reuters news agency.

But Zelensky's words confirmed longstanding reports that the U.S. has been pressuring Ukraine to pull back from the Donbas to open up the path to a quick peace settlement.

Territorial control has been the fundamental sticking point the rounds of negotiations so far, with neither Russia nor Ukraine willing to make concessions.

This year's fourth round of talks were set to take place in March but were postponed after President Trump launched the war against Iran on February 28.

Zelensky said he believed the U.S. president's focus was all on the Middle East and he was looking for a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials and Kyiv's European allies have been concerned by Trump's erratic stance on Ukraine and apparent warmth toward Russia, hoping to head off a deal that would harm Kyiv while rewarding Moscow.

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