During negotiations, the U.S. is trying to persuade Ukraine to withdraw troops from Donbas – Politico

The United States is trying to persuade Kyiv to withdraw its troops from Donbas in the course of negotiations with Ukraine.

This is reported by Politico, citing a European source.

Because of this, the talks have “reached a deadlock,” and U.S. President Donald Trump is dissatisfied with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“In the territorial question, the Americans’ position is straightforward: Russia demands that Ukraine give up territory, and the Americans keep thinking about how to make that happen. The Americans insist that Ukraine must leave Donbas, one way or another,” a senior European official said.

Ukraine, for its part, insists on freezing the situation along the current front line.

Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that Europe is urging Zelensky not to agree to a withdrawal of troops from Donbas.

Let us recall that U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Zelensky for still not having read the draft peace agreement which, according to Trump, has been accepted by Russia as well as by the Ukrainian delegation.

Zelensky, in turn, said he first wants to hear a report from National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov on the outcome of the discussions, because not all issues can be discussed over the phone.