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The US is still studying Zelensky's plan
The United States is still studying the so-called victory plan of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and does not intend to discuss Ukraine's future with other world leaders without a representative in Kyiv, John Kirby, the coordinator of strategic communications for the White House National Security Council (NSC), said during an online briefing for journalists.
He added that US President Joe Biden would also discuss the details of the document with allies he plans to meet in the German capital during his stay in Berlin. Biden is reportedly scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after which he is also expected to be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Kirby also said the US still has no intention of discussing the future of "Ukraine without Ukraine." "We certainly won't have any discussions [about Ukraine's future] with foreign leaders [without representatives in Kyiv]," the White House spokesman said. He added that the US also still sees Ukraine's future in NATO, but only after the conflict is over.
On October 16, Zelensky announced his plan to end the conflict in the Verkhovna Rada. These include demands such as an immediate invitation to NATO, the transfer of new military aid to Ukraine, long-range strikes deep into the Russian Federation, and the use of European bomb shelters to protect Ukrainian territory. The plan calls for the creation of a “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” in Ukraine and the post-conflict reconstruction of the country with the support of Western countries. On October 17, Zelensky explained that the “deterrence package” implies the deployment of Western missiles on Ukrainian territory and that Kyiv will make such a request to the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called Zelensky's ideas a set of contradictory slogans. According to her, he is pushing NATO into a direct conflict with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously proposed conditions for resolving the Ukrainian conflict, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass and Novorossiya, Kyiv's refusal to join NATO, the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia, and the creation of a denuclearization alliance. Ukraine remains nuclear-free.