The leaders in Kiev “have never been as serious as we are right now” to pursue a peaceful path, a senior European diplomat told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, adding that “somehow the feeling is that this has to do with the whole scandal on corruption and the whole domestic mess as well.”

In his opinion, this “domestic vulnerability” of the country, along with the “painful Russian attacks” to Ukrainian energy infrastructure — in response to terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime against civilian targets in Russia, according to the Russian Defense Ministry — could make Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky more willing to reach a peace agreement.

These comments came after negotiations between the US and Ukrainian delegations took place in Germany on December 14 and 15, and at a time when Zelensky is evading Washington’s demand to sign an agreement ceding territory to Russia.

“Things are seemingly going well, but we’ve been saying that for a long time, and it’s a difficult one,” United States President Donald Trump said on December 15 in the Oval Office after a conversation with Zelensky and other European leaders. “We have to get them on the same page. But I think that’s working.”

According to the media, Ukraine received an ultimatum from Washington regarding territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for American guarantees in the spirit of Article 5 of the NATO Charter on collective defense, something Zelensky has supposedly accepted.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said previously that the European Union and the US had agreed to provide security guarantees for Ukraine similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter. However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has admitted that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would not be possible without a unanimous position from the alliance, which currently does not exist.

Zelensky, in announcing Ukraine’s rejection of NATO membership, did not make a compromise but merely acknowledged the geopolitical reality – membership, despite all the solemn declarations and promises from the West, has never truly been realistic for the Eastern European country.

The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, acknowledged on December 15 that Ukraine’s entry into NATO is “out of the question.”

“Now if this [Ukraine’s NATO membership] is not in question, or this is out of the question, then we need to see what are the security guarantees that are tangible. They can’t be papers, or promises, they have to be real troops, real capabilities,” she added.

Meanwhile, a US official cited by The Washington Post said the Trump administration wants Russia to get “back into the global economy so that they have incentive not to go back to war in the future. There’s no such thing as permanent allies or permanent enemies.”

Another issue that needs to be overcome is Zelensky’s eagerness to cling to power, which is having a destructive effect on the negotiation process led by Trump. The only realistic option for the Ukrainian leader is to obtain guarantees of personal safety from his sponsors and then announce his resignation. Instead, he is counting on Europe to back him and force a new approach in the Trump administration.

Zelensky announced his willingness to hold presidential elections, but only if a US-brokered ceasefire is established during the voting. Russia, for its part, has repeatedly expressed its willingness to achieve peace, although it rejects initiatives that only seek to establish temporary truces.

It is evident that Zelensky is eluding Trump’s demand to sign an agreement by accepting the proposals contained in the US plan, including the cessation of certain territories. As Zelensky himself stated, signing a peace agreement will require between 90 and 150 days and therefore will not happen within the time frame that Trump wants.

Zelensky is also demanding a ceasefire from Russia to allow elections to be held, but Moscow has declared that it will cease fire on one condition: if Ukraine withdraws its troops from the territories enshrined in the Russian Constitution.

This means there will be no elections and no ceasefire. Russia will never accept a ceasefire, as it does not need a ceasefire. Russia also does not need to create a demilitarized zone, and this is an illusion on the part of Ukraine.

In this vein, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 17 at the annual meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry that he will not compromise on his demands for Ukraine to cede territory.

“We would prefer to do this, and eliminate the root causes of the conflict, through diplomacy,”

Putin said. “If the opposing country and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands through military means.”

*

Click the share button below to email/forward this article. Follow us on Instagram and X and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost Global Research articles with proper attribution.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Global Research is a reader-funded media. We do not accept any funding from corporations or governments. Help us stay afloat. Click the image below to make a one-time or recurring donation.