President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine faces “one of the most difficult moments” in its history as the United States presses Kyiv to agree to a controversial plan to end the war launched by Russia, warning that the country risks “losing a key partner” but will not “betray” its own interests.
In a videotaped address to the nation on November 21, Zelenskyy said his government “will work calmly with America and all partners” and vowed to hold a “constructive search for solutions” with Washington, which handed him the 28-point draft plan a day earlier.
“I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy a reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace,” Zelenskyy said, suggesting Kyiv would seek substantial changes to the US proposal, which entails major concessions by Kyiv, after it emerged abruptly this week.
“Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice. Either loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner [the US],” he said, dressed in black and urging unity in a somber-toned address that comes at a tough time, with a corruption scandal shaking his administration.
“Either a difficult 28 points, or an extremely hard winter – the hardest — and further risks. Life without freedom, without dignity, without justice,” he said.
What’s In The Plan?
The draft proposal obtained by RFE/RL and other news outlets indicate that if it were approved in its current wording, Ukraine would be required to cede more than 20 percent of its territory, at least de facto, and make other major concessions including limiting the size of its military and a constitutional prohibition on joining NATO.
It would also slap restrictions on NATO, obliging the alliance not to expand further or to station troops in Ukraine, and would end Russia’s isolation from the West, paving the way for the removal of sanctions and extending Moscow an invitation to rejoin the club known as the G-7 since Moscow was excluded in 2014 over its seizure of Crimea.
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-us-peace-plan-trump-putin-zelenskyy/33598281.html