Ukraine, U.S. negotiated away several pain points in Trump’s ‘peace plan’

While both delegations ended up pleased with the amended draft, the most contentious points (territorial concessions and Kyiv’s relationship with NATO) were left for presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resolve.

Kyslytsia said the Ukrainian delegation, led by head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, did not have a mandate to make decisions on ceding territory to Moscow. Under Ukraine’s constitution, such matters would require a nationwide referendum.

“We developed a solid body of convergence, and a few things we can compromise on,” the Ukrainian official told the FT.

“The rest will need leadership decisions.”

According to Kyslytsia, both sides will now report to their presidents. He expects the Trump administration to reach out to Moscow next, aiming to advance the negotiations.

Only the copies of the draft plan handed to the heads of the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations were allowed to leave the meeting room; all other copies were collected at the conclusion of the talks. The original draft, consisting largely from a “wishlist” of Russian demands, was a subject of several media leaks last week.

The deputy minister added that the U.S. negotiators were attentive, open to Ukraine’s perspective, and receptive to counterproposals.

“Almost everything we suggested was taken on board,” he said.

In particular, the U.S. side agreed to remove a clause setting limits on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“They agreed the Ukrainian army number in the leaked version [of the peace plan draft] — whoever authored it — was no longer on the table,” Kyslytsia said.

Earlier reports in the Financial Times, citing diplomatic sources, said the U.S.-backed plan had been trimmed from 28 points to 19 after the Geneva talks on Nov. 23. The two delegations issued a joint statement announcing an updated framework for a peaceful settlement.