Ukraine urges acceleration of peace talks, says only Trump can broker deal

Ukraine calls for rapid peace talks, asserting only Trump can facilitate a resolution to the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Kyiv’s Foreign ‍Minister has said the Ukrainian and Russian leaders need to meet in person to hash out the hardest remaining issues in peace talks, and that only U.S. ​President Donald Trump has the power to bring about an agreement.

Also Read | Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine’s energy system with 400 drones, 40 missiles: Zelenskyy

Ukraine wants to accelerate the efforts to ‌end the four-year-old war and capitalise on momentum in the U.S.-brokered talks before other factors come into play, such as campaigning ​for the U.S. Congressional mid-term elections in November, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in an interview.

“Only Trump can stop the war,” Mr. Sybiha told Reuters in his office in Kyiv, close to the Dnipro river.

From a 20-point peace plan that has formed the basis of recent trilateral negotiations, only “a few” items remain outstanding, Sybiha said. “The most sensitive and most difficult, to be dealt with at the leaders’ level.”

On key issues, such as land, the two sides appear far apart. Russia has maintained its demand that Ukraine cede the remaining 20% of the eastern region of Donetsk that it has failed to occupy during years ​of grinding, attritional warfare — something that Kyiv has steadfastly refused. Ukraine also wants control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the ⁠largest in Europe — which is in Russian-occupied territory.