KYIV: US and Ukrainian negotiators will revisit the thorny issues of territory and the fate of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, the most problematic points in peace talks to end Russia's war. Kyiv is under US pressure to secure peace in the nearly four-year old conflict but is pushing back on Russian demands to cede its eastern Donetsk region and give up control of Europe's largest nuclear facility. The delegations are in Paris for a third day of talks among Kyiv's allies on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, which has been cool on the US-backed process.
"We expect, in particular, that the most difficult issues from the basic framework for ending the war will be discussed — namely, issues related to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and territories," Zelensky wrote on X, announcing a third session with the US team in two days. He added that he had ordered his team to discuss new leader-level talks involving the US and European allies.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought progress on EU membership talks and tougher sanctions on Russia, making his case on Wednesday as Cyprus took over the European Union's rotating presidency. Zelensky met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia as Cyprus formally assumed the presidency, which runs for six months. "We are working to make as much progress as possible during this period on opening negotiating clusters and on Ukraine's accession to the European Union," Zelensky said after the meeting, in a statement posted on X. — Reuters
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