The Chief of Staff of Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Ermak, said that the 28-point peace plan of US President Donald Trump is “unacceptable“ for Kiev and suggested “forget it”.
“I suggest forgetting the 28 points”, he said in an interview with Axios. “Life is changing so fast that now I think that this is a thing of the past.“
According to reports in Western media, the initial version of the American plan envisaged Ukraine's refusal to join NATO and a commitment by the alliance not to integrate Kiev, as well as recognition by the US and other countries of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and Donbas, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the DPR, the official status of the Russian language in Ukraine, a limitation on the size of the Ukrainian army and the lifting of sanctions against Russia. EU leaders expressed disagreement with some of the provisions and announced the development of counter-proposals.
Yermak said that he had spoken with the head of the US ground forces, Dan Driscoll, and that he was expecting him in Kiev this week, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Driscoll is a key representative of the American negotiating team for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
“Thank you for your objectivity and constructiveness“, wrote Yermak on “Telegram“. "We continue to expect the US Secretary of the Army this week in Kiev and are ready to continue our work as soon as possible to finalize steps towards ending the bloodshed", Ermak added.
Zelensky's chief of staff was part of the Ukrainian delegation that visited Geneva on Sunday for consultations with US representatives on Washington's peace proposals.
Yermak noted that these talks were "a good basis" and added that Zelensky and his team were "fully committed to further work".