Moscow scoffs Zelensky’s peace plan even as Trump remains non-committal before Sunday meeting
New Delhi, Dec. 27 (IANS) – President Donald Trump has signalled that he will not commit to Ukraine’s 20‑point peace “plan” until he meets with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. In the meantime, Moscow has described the proposal as “radically different” from the version it was developing in concert with Washington.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RT—formerly RIA International—that the 20‑point package, “if it can even be called as such,” diverges sharply from the 27‑point draft the U.S. had been working on over recent weeks. The RT report added that an earlier U.S. draft, leaked to the media in November, called for Kiev to hand over parts of the Donbass that remained under Ukrainian control, to renounce NATO membership, and to cut its armed forces to 600,000 troops. It also proposed freezing the frontline in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
Washington, on the other hand, has said the Moscow‑draft could serve as a foundation for future talks, though EU allies warned they would oppose major concessions from Kyiv. Russia, for its part, has made clear that it remains unwilling to accept anything short of full control over the contested territories.
The RT piece followed a Friday interview in which Trump framed himself as the key arbiter of any settlement between Ukraine and Russia. He said, “So we’ll see what he’s (Zelensky) got,” indicating skepticism about the Ukrainian leader’s bid to end hostilities. Trump also told POLITICO that “He (Zelensky) doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”
Zelensky’s 20‑point framework calls for a freeze of the frontline across Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, a withdrawal of Russian forces from several Ukrainian regions, and an 800,000‑strong Ukrainian army backed by NATO. It also envisages “Article 5‑like” security guarantees from the U.S., NATO and other European states—reflecting Article 5’s principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
With Trump positioning himself as the gatekeeper, the United States can use its diplomatic weight and security aid to push for a plan that protects Ukrainian sovereignty while offering enforceable guarantees. Trump noted that Russia’s economy is under “tough shape, very tough shape,” and he remains hopeful that a productive Sunday meeting with Kremlin officials will follow.
“I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with (Vladimir) Putin,” Trump said, adding he expects to speak with the Russian leader “soon, as much as I want.” These comments came after Zelensky’s conversation with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which the Ukrainian president described as a “good conversation.”
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