AFP: Zelenskyy promises elections after signing a peace agreement. The new plan does not require Ukraine to give up joining NATO
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, December 24, that according to the latest U.S. plan negotiated between Kyiv and Washington for weeks, he would hold presidential elections after signing an agreement to end the war with Russia. In addition, the new plan does not require Ukraine to formally give up joining NATO.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told a press group including AFP that the new draft of the plan, which has been submitted to Moscow for comments, stipulates that "Ukraine must hold elections as soon as possible after the signing of the agreement."
It is also worth noting that Zelenskyy said the new U.S. plan aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war does not require Ukraine to formally abandon NATO membership, which had been Moscow's main demand.
"Whether or not to accept Ukraine as a member should be decided by NATO. Our choice has already been made. We have refused to amend the clause in the Ukrainian constitution regarding not joining NATO," Zelenskyy said. He referred to a previous version drafted by the United States, which had required Kyiv to make a legal commitment not to join NATO.
AFP noted that the latest plan would freeze the front lines, meaning a ceasefire at the current frontline positions. However, it would still pave the way for Ukraine to withdraw its troops and establish a demilitarized zone.
Additionally, the Ukrainian president said he expected Russia to respond to the latest U.S. plan on Wednesday.
Two more Russian police officers were killed in a bombing
Meanwhile, an explosion on the morning of the 24th in southern Moscow killed three people, two of whom were police officers.
According to Reuters, the explosion occurred in a parking lot near a police station on Yaksynyevaya Street in southern Moscow. The Russian Investigative Committee said that two police officers found a suspicious man in the parking lot and questioned him, when he detonated a bomb device, killing them.
Another person also died in the explosion, and authorities did not reveal his identity.
Non-official Russian Telegram news channels reported that the person who made the bomb was one of the victims, and he detonated the bomb when the two police officers approached him. Reuters could not independently verify these details.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened an investigation into murder of law enforcement officers and illegal trafficking of bombs.
The location of the explosion on Wednesday was very close to the site where the head of the Russian General Staff's Army Operational Training Directorate, Salvarov, was assassinated. The Russian side claimed that Ukrainian intelligence agents planted a bomb under Salvarov's car.
Sources: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852427542609932/
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