President Zelensky Says Security Guarantee Documents from the US are Ready

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the United States' security guarantee documents for Ukraine were ready, just waiting for the place and time to be signed, showing that weekend talks with Russia had made some progress.

"For us, security guarantees are security guarantees from the United States. The document is 100 percent ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place when we will sign it," President Zelensky said at a press conference during his visit to Vilnius, Lithuania, launching Al Arabiya and Reuters (26/1).

"The document will then be sent for ratification to the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament," he continued.

"The 20-point plan (of the US) and problematic issues are being discussed. There are many problematic issues, but now there are fewer," said President Zelensky.

He said Moscow wants to do everything it can to get Ukraine to abandon the eastern territory that Moscow has not been able to seize since the full-scale invasion that triggered the war.

But Kyiv, he said, would not budge from its position that Ukraine's territorial integrity must be upheld.

"These are two very different positions - the Ukrainian and Russian positions. The United States is trying to find a compromise," he explained, adding that all parties must be ready to compromise, including the United States.

It is known that Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held their first trilateral meeting involving the United States mediator on Friday and Saturday, discussing Washington's framework for ending the war that has lasted nearly four years, but no agreement was reached.

However, both Moscow and Kyiv have said they are open to further dialogue.

A US official said after the weekend talks that further discussions were expected for Sunday.