Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. representatives on Monday concluded two days of talks regarding the peace plan for the Ukrainian crisis in Berlin, Germany, with both sides saying progress was made.
Zelensky met with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner for about two hours on Monday, after five hours of talks on Sunday.
Speaking later Monday at the 8th German-Ukrainian Business Forum in Berlin, Zelensky said the important conversations with the U.S. side are always complex, difficult, but very productive this time. He stressed the need to preserve Ukraine's dignity and said the diplomatic efforts to end this conflict would continue.
Ukraine's top peace negotiator Rustem Umerov said on social media platform X that the talks have been constructive, with "real progress achieved."
Umerov added that the American team led by Witkoff and Kushner is "working extremely constructively" to help Ukraine find a path to a lasting peace agreement.
Following the talks on Sunday, Witkoff said on social media that "a lot of progress" had been made.
On Monday, the U.S. delegation claimed that the U.S., Ukraine and major European countries have reached consensus on "90 percent" of the issues.
According media reports, U.S. negotiators were pressing Ukraine to give up the Donbas region as part of the settlement.
Asked at a press conference on Monday whether the United States was demanding Ukraine's withdrawal from territory it controls, Zelensky said the U.S. side was not making its own territorial demands. He acknowledged, however, that Ukraine and the United States still hold differing positions on territorial issues.
Before the Monday meeting, Zelensky had voiced rejection of the U.S.-proposed plan to establish a "free economic zone" in parts of the eastern Donbas region, saying it is unfair due to a lack of clarity over governance. He stressed that Ukraine needs clear security guarantees before making decisions on the front line.
Zelensky also said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process.
The Kremlin said barring Ukraine from joining NATO was a "cornerstone" in talks to end the conflict.
"This issue is one of the cornerstones and requires special discussion," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a daily briefing on Monday.
Ukraine, US report progress following peace plan talks in Berlin
