Kremlin has not received 20-point peace plan, says Russian foreign minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that Moscow has not received any peace plan on Ukraine containing 20 points. He added that no such document has reached the Kremlin through either official or unofficial channels.

Source: RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, citing Lavrov in an interview with Empathy of Manuchi (Empatiya Manuchi), a propaganda interview series on YouTube

Details: Lavrov claimed that a peace agreement between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin could have been achieved fairly quickly following the Anchorage summit. He described later proposals as, in his words, efforts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to move away from the "US-led initiative".

Quote: "In Anchorage, we found approaches based on the US-led initiative and American proposals that opened the way to peace. On this basis, it was entirely realistic to promptly agree on a final settlement agreement."

Details: Lavrov also claimed that Europe, in his view, is obstructing agreement on the "points" he says were reached in Alaska. He added that the objectives of the so-called "special military operation" [as Russia refers to the war against Ukraine – ed.] remain unchanged and are, according to him, tied to ensuring Russia's security. Separately, the Russian foreign minister said that active public commentary on the talks in Abu Dhabi is, in his opinion, intended to derail them.

Lavrov also asserted that Russia is "willing to compromise", but this cannot affect "key principles" on which "the life of the state and millions of people depends".

Previously:

• An Axios journalist reported that on 10 December, Ukraine submitted its response to the United States regarding the peace plan that the administration of Donald Trump had been working on at the time.
• Bloomberg reported that the Ukrainian side had handed its response to the US on the peace plan, without providing further details.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 9 December that work at the level of national security advisers had been completed on proposals from Ukraine and Europe for the peace plan.
• According to the Financial Times, Donald Trump wants a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia to be concluded by Christmas.

Background:

• Reports about a new US peace plan aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine appeared in several American media outlets on 19 November.
• According to these reports, the plan envisaged that the entire Donbas region would be handed over to Russia. It also suggested that Ukraine would have to limit its weapons arsenal, cut its army by half, and agree to grant the Russian language the status of a second state language.
• On 21 November, US digital news outlet Axios released the text of a 28-point peace plan, under which Ukraine would permanently renounce its territories and Russia would receive amnesty.
• On 23 November, the United Kingdom, Germany and France prepared counterproposals to the draft 28-point US peace plan, aimed at making it more favourable to Ukraine.
• Also on 23 November, delegations from Ukraine and the United States held talks in Geneva, after which an "updated" peace document became known.
• The Financial Times reported that following the Geneva talks, the Trump team revised the original version of the peace plan, reducing the number of points to 19.
• On 2 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the updated version of the peace plan that Ukraine was discussing with the United States now contained 20 points, compared with 28 in the original version.

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