MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky's new peace plan looks maximalist to Russia; US President Donald Trump seeks to play peacemaker again in the Thailand-Cambodia conflict; and US sanctions Europeans over tech regulation dispute. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Vladimir Zelensky has put forward a 20-point peace plan, which, according to him, Kiev is coordinating with Moscow and Washington during negotiations. On Christmas Eve, a day after Zelensky met with reporters, the Strana news outlet published excerpts from the plan. It is unclear whether the document was agreed by Ukraine and the US for submission to Moscow or merely the Ukrainian government's proposal.
Before revealing the plan's contents, Zelensky most likely coordinated with Washington, Nikolay Silayev, a leading researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Relations, told Vedomosti. However, this document cannot serve as the basis for peace; rather, it is Kiev’s negotiating position. Russia believes that only the understandings it has previously reached with US representatives can serve as a basis for dialogue, the political scientist noted.
According to Silayev, Zelensky's proposed peace plan contains several items that Moscow just cannot accept. First, the size of the Ukrainian armed forces — proposed at 800,000 servicemen in peacetime — undermines one of Moscow's main goals in the conflict: Ukraine’s demilitarization. Second, introducing educational programs on tolerance in Ukrainian schools does not equate to denazification. For that to happen, Kiev must repeal discriminatory laws. Finally, the expert pointed out that the Ukrainian leadership refuses to withdraw its troops from Donbass, which is also unacceptable to Russia.
