Zelensky: Washington pushing for peace deal by June

The United States wants Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement to end the war by summer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. According to him, Washington has proposed a new round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow, which should take place in Miami in a week's time, and Ukraine has agreed to this.

Zelensky said that the US will likely put pressure on both sides to stick to the agreed schedule, pointing to the upcoming US Congressional elections in the fall of this year.

His comments confirmed earlier information about the timing of the agreement. According to the Ukrainian president, Ukraine has submitted a proposal for a sequence of steps.

This week, two days of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a major breakthrough, but the parties agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war and resumed these exchanges after a five-month hiatus. Zelensky said the exchanges would continue.

According to the president, military teams discussed technical issues related to monitoring a possible ceasefire, security guarantees for Kyiv, and economic cooperation as part of a so-called prosperity plan for post-war reconstruction. The Ukrainian leader did not fail to mention that he has information about proposals for cooperation between Russia and the US, which, however, according to him, must not violate the Ukrainian constitution.

(reuters, max)