Latest US proposals on a "peace plan" do not include a call for Russia to withdraw its troops from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine to create a demilitarised zone.

Source: Financial Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Financial Times cited a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the latest draft proposal, who said it does not call on Russia to withdraw from the territories that would form the eastern boundary of the demilitarised zone under the plan. Instead, the United States is insisting that Ukrainian forces should leave their positions in Donetsk Oblast.

Trump's original 28-point "peace plan" included a proposal to create a "neutral, demilitarised buffer zone" after Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from Donbas.

Ukrainian officials involved in the talks have said that the US side is pressing for a zone similar to the one that has separated North and South Korea since an armistice was signed more than 72 years ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, sees a demilitarised zone as a path to a frozen conflict and a short pause that would give Moscow time to regroup before launching a new offensive.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported earlier that representatives of Ukraine and the US had held talks on Ukraine's post-war reconstruction and economic recovery.
• On Tuesday 9 December, Zelenskyy reported that work at the level of national security advisers on Ukraine's and Europe's proposals for a "peace plan" has been completed.
• He also said that three documents are being prepared as part of the negotiations between Ukraine, Europe and the US – documents that will form the basis of a future peace settlement.

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