KYIV: US President Donald Trump’s special envoy will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend, the White House said, as Washington presses for a plan to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Trump has been stepping up pressure on Kyiv to reach an agreement since revealing a peace plan last month that has been accused of echoing Moscow’s key demands, including Ukraine ceding crucial territory.
The 28-point proposal has triggered a flurry of diplomacy between the United States and Ukraine’s European allies, with Kyiv officials recently saying they had sent Washington an updated plan.
A White House official confirmed to AFP on Friday (Dec 12) the accuracy of a Wall Street Journal report that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Zelenskyy and European leaders over the weekend to discuss the status of peace negotiations.
Germany’s government has said Berlin will host the leaders, including the heads of the European Union and NATO, next Monday in the hours after Zelenskyy attends a German-Ukrainian business forum with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The idea of a speedy accession by Ukraine into the European Union – a move opposed by Moscow – is included in the latest version of a US-led plan to end the war.
Europeans and Ukrainians are also asking the United States to provide them with “security guarantees” before Ukraine negotiates any territorial concessions, the French presidency said on Friday.
Concrete security guarantees for Ukraine are a “prerequisite” for any peace agreement and must be set out in a legally binding document, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, Alyona Getmanchuk, told AFP on Thursday.
