Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Washington wants to see an end to the war in Ukraine by June. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations are invited to the United States next week for further talks.
Published on: 02/07/2026 - 12:51 Modified on: 02/07/2026 - 22:55
A few days after tripartite discussions in Abu Dhabi, Washington proposed, Saturday February 7, to reiterate negotiations to end the war in Ukraine next week in the United States. The Americans have also said they want an end to the war, which will soon enter its fifth year, "by the beginning of summer, in June", Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists.
“The United States has invited for the first time the two teams of Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, probably to Miami, in a week,” he added, reporting on the discussions held Wednesday and Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.
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Ukraine has given its agreement for this new meeting, continued the Ukrainian president, while assuring that Ukraine would not accept agreements concluded between the United States and Russia without being itself involved, in particular on the delicate question of territories.
Russia, which launched its army to attack Ukraine in 2022, occupies around 20% of its territory and is pushing for full control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, ensuring that it would take it by force if negotiations fail.
The creation of a “free economic zone”
Ukraine, which is struggling to contain a slow but continuous Russian advance on the front and is subject to strikes across its entire territory, is calling for an end to the fighting on the current demarcation line and demanding security guarantees from the United States to dissuade Moscow from attacking again after the signing of a peace agreement.
Donald Trump's administration has floated the idea of creating a "free economic zone" in Ukraine's disputed eastern territories, where neither side would exercise military control.
“Even if we manage to create a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules,” said Volodymyr Zelensky
The two belligerents have also not found an agreement on the question of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (south), occupied by Moscow since the start of the invasion.
To put pressure on Ukraine, the Russian army has for months been increasing massive strikes on energy infrastructure, causing large-scale power, water and heating cuts, while the country is going through a particularly cold winter.
Receiving French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin in kyiv on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for “air defense, military aviation and joint efforts” on the part of the Europeans.
Russian strikes in recent weeks have at times left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or heat for hours, with temperatures of -5°C in the capital in the early morning and expected to plunge over the weekend to reach as low as -20°C on Monday.
With AFP
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