Russia accuses Ukraine of seeking to "torpedo" talks on US peace plan

Moscow, Russia - Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to "torpedo" talks on a US plan to end its military offensive, saying a text presented by Kyiv this week was "radically different" to one Moscow negotiated with Washington.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Ukraine of trying to "torpedo" talks with the US to end the war.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Ukraine of trying to "torpedo" talks with the US to end the war.  © ELOI ROUYER / AFP

"Our ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on television.

"Especially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors – notably within the European Union, who are not in favor of an agreement – have stepped up efforts to torpedo it."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is to meet US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to discuss his new version of a US plan.

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"Without an adequate resolution of the problems at the origin of this crisis, it will be quite simply impossible to reach a definitive accord," Ryabkov said.

He said any deal had to "remain within the limits" fixed by Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin when they met in Alaska in August, or else "no accord can be reached."

"This plan, if we can call it that, differs radically from the 27 points that we drew up in the recent weeks since early December in collaboration with the American side," he said.

According to the new 20-point plan revealed by Zelensky, the current front line would be frozen, but Ukraine could pull back troops from the east, where demilitarized buffer zones could be created.

Cover photo: ELOI ROUYER / AFP

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