No breakthrough in US-Russia talksーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted US special envoy Steve Witkov for talks on ending the fighting in Ukraine. It’s unclear if any breakthrough was reached. Wito was joined by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. They met with Putin and his foreign policy aid Yuri Ushakov as well as special representative Kirio Ditrif. It’s likely the two sides had a discussion based on the US drafted peace proposal. They have not disclosed the plan’s details. Putin demanded last month that Crimea and two eastern regions be officially recognized as Russian territory. But Ukraine has not shown a willingness to make concessions. The Kremlin said on Monday its forces have captured the strategic city of Pocarovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk. From this springboard, from this sector, the Russian army can easily advance in any direction deemed most promising by the general staff. Ukrainian President Badimia Zalinski said he’s waiting for the results of the discussion in Moscow and that he’s prepared to receive all signals. It is important that all this is fair and open so that there is no game behind Ukraine’s back so that nothing is decided without Ukraine, about us, about our future. Zalinski added that he’s ready to hold talks with Trump. For more on this, we are now joined by former NHK Moscow Bureau Chief Amma Hideo. So, Hideo, Russian officials said they couldn’t find points to compromise on. So, can you give us the background on this? Well, let’s look at the original peace proposal drafted by the Trump administration. It reportedly included 28 points many of them seeing as favorable to Russia. But after strong objections from Ukine and several European countries was revised down to 19 points and this change appear to have displeased Moscow. I think the core sticking points are clear. the status of Ukrainian territorial territories occupied by Russia and security guarantees for Ukraine including possible NATO membership. Ukrainian President Zerinski said on Monday that the most critical uh issue is the territorial question. This of course concerns Crimea annexed unilaterally by Russia as well as territories Russia occupies in two eastern and two southern region of Ukraine. Russia insist these areas must be recognized as its treaties while while Ukraine see them as essential to its sovereignty and cannot accept such demands on security guarantees. Russia demands a permanent pledge that the Ukraine will never join NATO. Ukraine Ukraine agrees argues that the such commitment is impossible. Realistically, NATO membership for Ukraine remains elusive. So, Ukraine is instead seeking robust security asurances from Western countries. And uh Hideo, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office was uh just fired over a major corruption scandal, right? Uh how do you think this could impact the Zilinski administration? Well, it’s an extremely serious development coming at a sensitive time. This is a fall fallout from a major scandal in November where ministers resigns after siphoning off roughly $100 million from the stateowned nuclear energy company and the top official leaving their post uh now includes Zenski’s closest aid presidential office head and Yumak resigned due to the scandal. uh he was a top negotiator uh in the peace talks. In short, this scandal strikes at the very heart of the ad administration. Until now, Zalinski has maintained strong public support, but this incident is deepening public discussion and could have significant consequences for his own political future. We are also seeing signs of a USRussia reproachmon. How could this influence the toll? Well, any approachment may face challenges by the clear differences within the Trump administration over policy toward Russia. Uh figures such as Vice President B and Wkov are pushing for swift ceasefire advocating a pragmatic approach that accept certain concessions to Russia. In contrast, Secretary of State Lubio warns against being exploited uh by Moscow and stresses the need to defend Ukraine so 70. But President Trump still appears uh to favor Witkov’s approach driven by his desire to secure deal quickly. This has raised concern in Congress that the president may lean too far toward accommodating Russia. Putin on his part shows no sign of compromising. He has not moderated his stance recently uh seizing Poplo key transportation have Ukraine’s peace talks are caught between principles on one hand and harsh strategic reality on the other. At the same time there is a corruption scandal. A meeting between Trump and Zalinski will likely occur sooner or later but deepening uh depending on how the situation evolves. Zalinski may be pressed into making extremely difficult decisions. This is a critical juncture for Uklines’s leadership.
Talks with US envoy and Putin fizzle with no sign of compromises on Ukraine.
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