According to Bloomberg, the U.S. has requested Russia to accept Ukraine's right to have an army and defense industry. Previously, US media reported that the U.S. would recognize Crimea as part of Russia and freeze the current frontline, placing the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia under Russian control.

Bloomberg News reported on April 24th that sources stated the U.S. would demand Russia accept Ukraine's right to develop its own fully equipped army and defense industry, opposing Russia's insistence on "demilitarization" of Ukraine as a condition for ending the war.

Putin has long regarded "demilitarization" of Ukraine as one of the goals of the war. A few weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Putin government proposed strict restrictions on Ukraine's future military scale in a draft agreement, including cutting Ukraine's army size by more than half and significantly reducing the number of tanks, artillery, and rocket launchers. Agreeing to allow Ukraine to maintain its military force would mean Putin having to abandon this major war goal.

In the report, Bloomberg said that this indicates the Trump administration is seeking compromises from both the Kremlin and Ukraine. The report also mentioned that the Trump administration hopes Moscow will return Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia occupied the plant at the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter said that after returning the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukraine, the facility will be controlled by the United States to provide energy for both sides. Sources added that the details of the plan have not been determined and may still change.

The sources also said that the U.S. hopes to ensure Ukraine's right to navigate the Dnieper River and demands Russia return the Ukrainian territories occupied in the Kharkiv region. Putin demands recognition of his full sovereignty over the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson, although Russia does not fully occupy these areas.

At a meeting held last week in Paris, the Trump team presented a proposal to end the war to Europe and Ukraine, which includes the U.S. recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, while freezing the current frontline, which is essentially placing most of the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia under Moscow's control.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told CBS in an interview on Thursday evening, April 24th, that although he believes there are still some specific points in the agreement to end the war in Ukraine that need "fine-tuning," "we are moving in the right direction," and Russia "is ready to reach an agreement."

Russia talks while advancing

Russia launched its largest air raid on Kyiv early Thursday morning this week, causing at least 12 deaths and dozens of injuries. This forced Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to cut short his visit to South Africa. Before leaving South Africa, Zelenskyy told reporters, "Without an unconditional ceasefire, we cannot talk about red lines."

Zelenskyy also stated in the evening that Russian forces used the attack on Kyiv on Thursday as cover to launch nearly 150 attacks along the approximately 1,000-kilometer front line.

Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Russia's attacks on Kyiv, calling them "unnecessary" and occurring at a "very bad time." Previously, Trump again pressured Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, accusing him of disrupting peace talks. Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of ceding Ukrainian territory. Trump said this week, "I think we've reached an agreement with Russia. We must reach an agreement with Zelenskyy." He said he thought dealing with Zelenskyy might be easier, but so far it has been more difficult. On Thursday, Trump met Norwegian Prime Minister Støre at the Oval Office in the White House. When asked by reporters what concessions Russia would make in the negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump replied that Russia stopping the war instead of occupying all of Ukraine was already "quite a concession."

This Friday, U.S. envoy Steve Witkowski arrived in Moscow and met with Putin. The Kremlin released a short video clip of Putin greeting Witkowski. In the video, you can hear Witkowski ask, "Mr. President, how are you?" "Very good, very good, thank you," Putin answered in English, which is rare. The two then shook hands. Putin's foreign policy assistant Yuri Ushakov and international cooperation envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attended the meeting.

The German government's position

In light of the negotiations between Russia and the U.S. to end the war, the German government emphasized the importance of Ukraine's independence. Christian Hoffman, deputy spokesperson for the German government, stated in Berlin on Friday, "Maintaining Ukraine's sovereignty is crucial," and "no peace agreement can be reached without Ukraine's consent." She said that the German government generally welcomes negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, "but we are clearly aware that this cannot be a forced peace at the expense of Ukraine's interests." Hoffman emphasized that Ukraine will still need a strong armed force in the future, "which is the most important security guarantee Ukraine can obtain." She also added that Ukraine's path to joining the EU must remain open.

Source: Bloomberg, AFP, etc.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497428161118962226/

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