Politics

The United States aims for Russia and Ukraine to resolve their conflict, the largest since World War II, before the summer, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. In comments shared with reporters by his office on Saturday, Zelensky stated that Washington has suggested a new round of discussions between Kyiv and Moscow to be held in Miami next week, and Kyiv has agreed to this proposal. “The Americans are urging both sides to conclude the war before summer begins and may exert pressure to stick to this timeline. The upcoming mid-term congressional elections are certainly a priority for them. Let’s be realistic. They want everything settled by June,” Zelensky remarked. His comments align with an earlier Reuters report about the expected timeline for a resolution. Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine had put forward a sequencing plan, but did not provide specific details. This week, Ukraine and Russia wrapped up two days of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi without significant progress; however, both sides agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war (POWs) each, resuming prisoner swaps after a five-month hiatus. Zelensky confirmed that the POW exchanges would continue. Military teams discussed technical details for monitoring a potential ceasefire. They also talked about security guarantees for Ukraine and agreements on economic cooperation, referred to as “the prosperity plan,” which outlines Ukraine’s recovery after the war. Zelensky noted that he received reports from his intelligence services about discussions where Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev suggested cooperation deals between Russia and the US worth $12 trillion (R192.38 trillion). He emphasized that any such agreements between Russia and the US must not conflict with the Ukrainian constitution.