15:52 24-11-2025

Kots on US–Ukraine Talks and Uncertain Peace Prospects

© Dasha Sysoeva

Alexander Kots reviews US–Ukraine Geneva talks, noting revised peace plan points, unresolved territorial issues and doubts about real prospects for ending the conflict.

Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots weighed in on the outcome of the 23 November Geneva talks, where delegations from Kyiv and Washington discussed adjustments to the U.S. peace plan.

Kots pointed out that, following the negotiations, U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of progress. At the same time, Rubio remarked that there is a second party to the conflict — Russia — which, as he noted in an almost ultimatum-like tone, «has a voice» in the process.

The correspondent drew attention to the fact that the delegations revised several points that were clearly unacceptable for Moscow, including issues related to the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the status of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, and the requirement for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Kots added that the most critical topics — territorial questions and the proposed constitutional clause declaring Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO — were removed from the working agenda altogether. According to him, these matters are expected to be handled directly by U. S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.

He argued that Kyiv is predictably trying to present Russia as unwilling to negotiate while doing everything possible to keep the United States engaged in the conflict, whereas Trump is seeking a way to step away from it. Kots also referred to the statement by Russia’s president that the Russian public expects the objectives of the military operation to be fulfilled.

Given these dynamics, Kots concluded that the prospects for ending the conflict remain unclear.