Germany Zelensky meets US representatives and Europeans in Berlin
The talks between representatives of the USA and Ukraine on an end to the Russian war of aggression will continue today in Berlin with European participation. Negotiations will initially take place at an advisory level and in camera. German negotiators are also to take part in the talks. The USA had previously announced that special envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Berlin. The time and place of the talks were kept secret.
14.12.2025, 04:17
SDA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj also confirmed his participation in talks in Berlin. However, it is still unclear whether he will arrive today or on Monday.
Germany has been chosen as the venue for negotiations for the first time since the controversial peace plan of US President Donald Trump's administration became known. At the beginning of December, Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for around five hours to go through the original 28 points of the plan. Although Putin was still prepared to negotiate afterwards, he emphasized that Russia had the strategic initiative on the battlefield - and could also use military force to achieve its war aims if a diplomatic agreement failed.
Russia portrays Merz as a warmonger
No Russian representatives are present at the talks in Berlin. Moscow is keeping a close eye on developments - particularly with regard to the plans of some EU states, promoted by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), to use Russian state funds frozen in Belgium to support Ukraine. Selenskyj supports this idea, while Russia - which started the war in February 2022 in violation of international law - accuses Merz of warmongering in view of the possible financing of further arms deliveries to Ukraine.
The Kremlin rejected the Europeans' latest changes to US President Trump's peace plan as unacceptable. Trump, in turn, is putting pressure on Ukraine to agree to a peace agreement. He sees the country, which is dependent on Western support, at a military disadvantage against the aggressor Russia and warns that Ukraine could lose even more territory.
Putin had demanded territorial cessions from the Ukrainians and also claimed territory for Russia that his army does not yet control. Zelensky rejected this - and finally pointed out that, according to the constitution, only the Ukrainian people can decide on such territorial issues by referendum, not him.
Zelenskyi wants a just peace and security guarantees
The Ukrainian head of state once again made it clear that he would not meet any Russian maximum demands that would be tantamount to a declaration of capitulation by his country. "Our Ukrainian negotiating position is strong because we are maintaining our positions on the front, in our defense industry and in our internal stability," he said. Selensky had repeatedly rejected Russian claims about conquered territories and cities in Ukraine as lies - such as recently in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, where he demonstratively posed for the camera with a clenched fist.
"The most important thing is my meetings with representatives of President Trump as well as meetings with our European partners and many leading politicians about the basis for peace - a political agreement on ending the war," said Zelenskyi. Ukrainian experts are currently working on the details of the security guarantees that he wants to see set out in writing before a possible peace agreement with Russia.
It is about a just peace for Ukraine with a guarantee that there will be no further Russian invasion, emphasized Selenskyj. Talks between Ukrainian officials and representatives of the USA and European states on the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country are also planned in Berlin. Merz plans to receive Selenskyj on Monday for German-Ukrainian economic talks.
What does Russia want?
Russia insists on peace on its own terms. One of the many demands is that Ukraine should never become a member of NATO, because Russia says it sees this as a threat to its security.
Above all, however, Moscow insists on gaining complete control of the Donbass in eastern Ukraine - i.e. the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - which are not only of industrial importance. Ukrainian troops still control around 30 percent of the Donetsk region, including the strategically important towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Until now, the leadership in Kiev has always ruled out withdrawing its forces from there.
Territorial issue remains a sticking point in the negotiations
Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov rejected a referendum in Ukraine on the cession of territories. He recalled that Russia had already incorporated the Donbass and the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia into its territory by constitution in 2022. However, this unilateral annexation is not recognized internationally.
At the same time, Ushakov did not completely reject the proposal of a demilitarized zone in the region, but he did demand that the Russian National Guard and police should operate there. The Rosgvardiya National Guard is militarily organized and armed.
For southern Ukraine, there appears to be a proposal to freeze the front line in the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. Russia is being asked to vacate other occupied parts of the administrative regions of Sumy in the north, Kharkiv in the east and Dnipropetrovsk in the south.
Russia has also annexed Crimea and is demanding full recognition of the Black Sea peninsula as part of its territory under international law. A compromise could be that the USA and perhaps other countries recognize that Moscow controls part of Ukraine and that this should not be changed by force.
