Zelenskyy says Ukraine, U.S. negotiators discussed how to bring peace closer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner for about an hour on how to end the conflict with Russia.

"It was a really good conversation: many details, good ideas, that we discussed. There are some new ideas on how to bring the real peace closer, and it concerns formats, meetings, and, certainly, the timeline," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app.

Trump has been pushing for a deal to end the almost four-year-long conflict, and in recent weeks peace efforts led by Witkoff and Kushner have been slowly inching forward.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy presented a 20-point draft peace plan that he described as the main framework for ending the war.

The draft represented a slimmed-down version of an original 28-point plan the U.S. previously discussed with the Russian side that was widely seen as mainly benefiting Moscow as it demanded Kyiv cede territory and put curbs on its army.

However, key territorial questions remain unresolved in the new 20-point draft, Zelenskyy said, adding that a meeting with Trump would be required to solve the most sensitive issues.

The Ukrainian president also noted that Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, was scheduled to hold another round of talks with U.S. negotiators later in the day. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is working around the clock to bring the conflict to an end and to ensure that all documents and steps taken are realistic, effective and reliable.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow is analyzing documents on ending the conflict which were brought to Moscow by Russia's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev from the United States.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a regular press briefing that Europe continues to bet on the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and the escalation of tensions, showing no consideration for peace.

Regarding European countries supporting Ukraine, Zakharova said their only preoccupation is with the funds they will ostensibly transfer to Ukraine and then get them back.

Zakharova further stressed that Russia has always maintained an open stance toward cooperation with the West, adding that the Russian side has only one condition: full respect for international law.

Russia's readiness to formally confirm that it has no aggressive plans against NATO and EU countries on a reciprocal basis is a natural and logical continuation of its consistent and principled stance, she said.

"Russia is prepared to formalize such commitments in the form of a written, legally binding document. The specific format can be determined during negotiations, but it must be a comprehensive international legal instrument," Zakharova said.

(With input from agencies)