‘We hope we will reach an agreement that will bring us closer to peace by the end of the day,’ negotiator Rustem Umerov said.
Real progress was made with the U.S. delegation in Berlin during the second round of peace talks to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, Kyiv’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov said Dec. 15.
“Over the past two days, Ukrainian–US negotiations have been constructive and productive, with real progress achieved. We hope we will reach an agreement that will bring us closer to peace by the end of the day,” he said in a post on X.
Umerov said observers should ignore “rumors and provocations,” adding that the “American team led by [U.S. special envoy] Steve Witkoff and [U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law] Jared Kushner are working extremely constructively to help Ukraine find a way to a peace agreement that lasts.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those continuing talks in the German capital, resuming discussions in the wake of five hours of talks on Dec. 14, during which the U.S. contingent said a lot of progress had been made.
Other European leaders are also holding meetings in the German capital throughout the day.
Ahead of the first meeting, Zelenskyy said on Dec. 14 that Kyiv is open to dropping its NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees.
“Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries — Canada, Japan — are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,” Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp chat with reporters.
It remains unclear how discussions have progressed on that and other issues, such as territorial concessions, which have been key sticking points in the process.
The Kremlin said on Dec. 15 that Ukraine agreeing not to join NATO was fundamental to the peace settlement.
“Naturally, this issue is a key one, and it deserves special consideration compared to the others,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.
He added that “this is precisely what the negotiation process is all about,” but reiterated Moscow’s previous statement that it did not wish to engage in megaphone diplomacy.
Peskov went on to say that the Russians were not being kept abreast of the progress made in the Berlin discussions in real time, saying that, “once they complete their part of the work, we will expect to receive the vision being discussed today from our US counterparts.”
By Guy Birchall
