Negotiations between Ukraine, the USA and Russia have begun. Washington proposes to change the borders of Ukraine's regions.
According to The Economist, American negotiators proposed changing the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions so that Russia could declare full control over them. At the same time, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and other cities now controlled by Ukraine must remain under Kyiv's control.
This is one of the ideas with which the United States is trying to convince the Kremlin to conclude a peace agreement. Other proposals include Russia's return to the European energy market. Ukraine and European countries oppose it.
Disagreements remain about security guarantees. Kyiv demands financial and military support for at least 10 years, including maintaining an army of at least 800,000 people. Washington considers such expenses excessive and believes that the American security guarantees will be enough.
Russia, in turn, continues to demand the neutrality of Ukraine and the reduction of Ukraine's armed forces, and also does not demonstrate its willingness to agree to the deployment of multinational forces.