Zelenskyy's visit to US next week depends on Geneva talks – CBS News

CBS News has reported that American and Ukrainian officials are discussing the possibility of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelling to the United States next week.

Source: CBS News, citing its sources

Quote: "US and Ukrainian officials are discussing the potential of bringing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the US this week as part of President Trump's push to get an agreement on Ukraine by Thanksgiving, according to multiple US and Ukrainian officials familiar with the discussions.

Whether Zelenskyy's trip happens is dependent on the outcome of peace negotiations in Geneva on Sunday, the officials said."

Details: According to a senior White House official, there are currently no firm plans for a visit by Zelenskyy given the intense diplomatic activity, and no negotiations with Russia – either on its territory or elsewhere – have been scheduled.

Another US official said that another possible outcome of the talks in Geneva could be a trip by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to Russia or a meeting with Russian officials at another venue. Russian officials told CBS News that nothing had been planned so far.

A US official told CBS News that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin appears to believe he will take control of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast one way or another – either through negotiations or on the battlefield. According to the source, the Trump administration's talks in Geneva began on the premise that Putin was right.

While this same US official declined to offer an American assessment of whether Ukraine is losing the war in the east, the source noted that the course of fighting suggests Russia will seize the Donetsk region. The official added that Russia's advance in the eastern frontline city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub, is not a positive sign for Kyiv's defence prospects.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the afternoon of 23 November that, based on initial reports from the Ukrainian team at the Geneva talks, the US proposals may take into account several elements rooted in Ukraine's vision and critically important for Ukraine's national interests.
• Rustem Umierov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and member of Ukraine's negotiating delegation, said the current version of the peace plan already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities.
• The United Kingdom, Germany and France have prepared counterproposals to the US "peace plan" consisting of 28 points which include limiting the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 800,000 personnel and starting negotiations from the current line of contact. The full text has been published by the media.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Sunday's peace talks in Geneva had resulted in significant progress, although he hadn't seen the European proposals despite a meeting with national security advisers from European countries.

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