Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the U.S.-Ukraine security agreement is “100% complete” after a weekend filled with trilateral talks among the U.S., Ukraine and Russia.
Mr. Zelenskyy said he is now waiting for a time and place for parties to sign the security agreement. After it is signed, it will go to the U.S. Congress and the Ukrainian parliament for approval.
“For us, security guarantees are first and foremost guarantees of security from the United States. The document is 100% ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place when we will sign it,” Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters in Lithuanian. The Ukrainian president was on a diplomatic trip to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Officials were careful to add that significant work remains to be done before a final Ukraine-Russia peace deal is signed.
“It would be a mistake to expect any significant results from the initial contacts,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Sunday. “But the very fact that these contacts have begun in a constructive spirit can be viewed positively. However, there is significant work ahead.”
U.S., Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, over the weekend for the first rounds of trilateral talks since the war began four years ago. The meetings did not result in a deal, but all sides agreed to continue negotiations on Feb. 1 in Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Zelenskyy said territorial concessions remain a central issue during negotiations, with Russia urging Kyiv to abandon many of its eastern provinces that Russian forces have seized. He said U.S. diplomats are attempting to compromise on the issue, but Russia’s and Ukraine’s positions are fundamentally different.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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