The White House has not responded to Budanov’s statements. Bloomberg reported a U.S. official mentioning that a potential visit to Ukraine by Witkoff and Kushner is being considered but remains unconfirmed.
Trump has been urging Zelenskyy to agree to a resolution for Russia’s conflict against Ukraine, potentially involving Kyiv surrendering parts of its territory, as the Ukrainian president told Reuters last month. In a March 25 interview, Zelenskyy stated that Washington linked its security assurances for a Ukraine peace agreement to Kyiv relinquishing its entire eastern Donbas region to Russia.
On March 27, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuted Zelenskyy’s claim, indicating that the U.S. had not imposed such a condition in its discussions with Ukraine. “That’s a lie,” Rubio stated. “It’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true and that’s not what he was told.”
Giving up the Donbas region was included in a controversial 28-point proposal the U.S. presented to both Kyiv and Moscow last year. Within that plan, Ukraine would conduct elections within 100 days of the end of the war.
Zelenskyy has also expressed concern that Washington’s conflict in Iran could detract from the focus on Ukraine. “We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” he told the Associated Press on Saturday. “That’s why I am afraid a long [Mideast] war will give us less support.”
Leave a Reply