Ukraine disagrees about constitutional amendments in peace deal
Kyiv: Ukraine will not amend its Constitution as part of any potential peace deal, local media reported, citing a member of the Ukrainian delegation involved in talks with the United States, other partners and Russia.
“We have stated that Ukraine will not accept any form of recognition and Ukraine will not make any changes to the Constitution — these are red lines,” said Oleksandr Bevz, an advisor to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, on Wednesday (local time).
He said territorial issues should be addressed on two principles: the current contact line should serve as the basis for talks, and such questions must be handled at the level of national leaders, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting local media outlet Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian and US negotiators have reached an agreement in principle on most elements of Washington’s proposed peace plan, though it has been significantly revised from the original 28 points.
On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the updated plan could evolve into “deeper agreements.”
Zelensky said he had discussed the plan with Ukraine’s negotiating team. “The principles in this document can be developed into deeper agreements. And it is in our shared interest that security is real,” he said.
He also voiced hope for continued active cooperation with the US side.
Ukrainian and US negotiators reached an agreement in principle on most aspects of the US-proposed peace plan, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said earlier in the day. But the plan was significantly modified from the original 28 points, he added.
Zelensky hopes to discuss territorial issues directly with Trump, Yermak said.
The 28-point draft plan aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis has been trimmed to a 19-point framework drafted by the United States and Ukraine on Sunday in Geneva, multiple media outlets reported.
Trump said Tuesday in a Truth Social post that his team has made “tremendous progress” over the past week, and the original 28-point peace plan “has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides.”
“There are only a few remaining points of disagreement,” Trump said, noting that he has directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week in the hope of finalising a peace deal.
“At the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians,” he added.
Trump said he looks forward to hopefully meeting with Putin and Zelensky soon, but only when the peace deal is finalised or in its final stages.
Moreover, the US president backed away from a Thursday deadline for Ukraine to agree to the US-backed peace plan. “The deadline for me is when it’s over,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One as he flew to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trump also noted that Moscow had agreed to some concessions, without detailing them.
