Work continues in the background over Thanksgiving between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia to bridge the gaps and reach a consensus on a peace deal that ends the ongoing war, which is set to enter its fourth winter unless an agreement is found soon. But U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian officials have warned that the process is complex and will take time.
What To Know
- Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov said he sees “healthy elements of realism” in U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration and that it is “now open to a direct and frank dialogue”. But Ryabkov had earlier ruled out Russia making any major concessions to reach a peace deal.
- Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff remains due in Moscow to meet with Putin in the coming days, though a firm time and date is yet to be announced. Witkoff will discuss the refined and updated peace plan following U.S. talks with Ukraine to address its concerns about the original draft. Kyiv has tentatively agreed to much of the new plan.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Moscow’s Eurasian allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) he would upgrade their militaries with better equipment and weapons in a large-scale program. He said the CSTO “reliably guarantees security and stability in the Eurasian space” and “protects [their] sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
- NATO Secretary-General ruled out a Russian veto on Ukraine’s membership of NATO, a condition of the initial Russian-influenced draft of the Trump peace plan. “Russia has neither a vote nor a veto over who can be a member of NATO,” Rutte told Spanish outlet El Pais.
- European allies are working on a plan to see a multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Ukraine as part of a post-war security guarantee, an idea Russia has rejected. Trump has said the Europeans would play a leading role on Ukraine’s security guarantees under a peace deal.
- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Putin ally and northern neighbor of Ukraine, called Trump’s original draft plan “workable” but urged for more specifics on the finer details: “It needs to be presented in a clear and concise way, with every detail spelled out precisely.”
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