Ukraine open to US peace talks but won't budge on troops, land or NATO bid - media

Ukraine is generally ready to consider the Trump administration's peace plan, but categorically disagrees with three key demands: limiting the size of the Armed Forces, concessions of territories in the Donbas and the rejection of intentions to join NATO, CNN has reported.

US President Donald Trump described the results of the negotiations as "tremendous progress," and Secretary of State Marco Rubio called them "very positive," noting that "the remaining points are not insurmountable." During a meeting of the US military representative with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, it was also stated that "the Ukrainians have agreed to a peace agreement," although some technical details remain.

"On most points, there are still at least three issues on which there are serious differences. Among these issues is the territorial one: it concerns part of Donbas, including the "fortification belt" of fortified cities and towns, important for the country's security; The second is the size of the army. The US proposed to limit the troops to 600,000 soldiers, but Kyiv is discussing a higher figure and insists on additional changes; The third is the abandonment of intentions to join NATO, which the Ukrainian side considers unacceptable," the report states.

As reported, earlier CNN, citing a Ukrainian source involved in the negotiation process, noted that progress has been made in the negotiations between the US and Ukraine on a new peace plan, but there are still three key issues on which the parties have not yet reached an agreement.

"There are still at least three crucial areas where significant differences remain - differences that could make or break efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict," the report said.