After two days of intense talks between the US and Ukraine in Berlin, optimism returns again, with the chance of a truce which at this point becomes "real". Indeed, "it is not never been as big as it is now“, according to the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who hopes for a ceasefire before Christmas, appealing to what “remains of human decency” in Vladimir Putin to stop bombing civilians.
Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, he did not contradict him: “It was not easy, but the meetings were very productive", was his comment in the evening, when he finally took the floor. The progress on security guarantees for Kiev is recognized by all. However, the thorniest issue, the hardest for Ukrainians to digest, remains on the table: the territories and in particular Donbass“The positions are different,” the Ukrainian president said bluntly.
Security guarantees
On the negotiating table the real breach was opened on the chapter of safety guarantees: the documents have made much progress and provide for “very strong guarantees”, senior American officials reported, evoking a mechanism similar to Article 5 of NATO. And assuming that Moscow will also accept it in the final agreement.
While European leaders have taken a further step forward, putting in writing their willingness to create a “multinational force” in Ukraine, led by the European Union, composed of contributions from the willing nations within the Coalition of the Willing and supported by the United States, as well as "a ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism led by the United States with international participation". Among the new developments that have emerged in the last few hours is the fact that Kiev will be able to maintain its army of 800 soldiers (and not 600 as previously requested). And that Ukraine will benefit from "solid and significant support."
Trump: "We've never been this close to ending the war." Russia: "90% of the issues resolved."
And even if the Russia he was not sitting at the table and has not yet had his say, the tone from Washington is more than optimistic: "90% of the issues between Moscow and Kiev have been resolved“, they said in a call via a White House source.
The US president is also celebrating Donald Trump who said he was "very satisfied" with the "extraordinary work" of the Europeans. Trump connected with colleagues gathered for dinner at the chancellor's office, emphasizing that "we are closer than ever to the end of the conflict and that, in terms of security guarantees, Europe "will play a major role." The tycoon also announced that he recently spoke with Putin: "I think he wants the war to end" and that "Russians want to return to a more normal life."
The European position
The joint statement of the EU partners confirmed the significant progress, giving credit to the American leader and appreciating “the strong convergence” between the United States, Ukraine and Europe: “We welcome the significant progress "We welcome the close cooperation between President Zelensky's and President Trump's teams, as well as with the European teams, in recent days and weeks," reads the statement by Merz, Frederiksen, Stubb, Macron, Meloni, Schoof, Store, Tusk, Kristersson, Starmer, Costa, and von der Leyen. The leaders also "agreed to work with President Trump and President Zelensky to achieve a lasting peace that preserves Ukrainian sovereignty and European security." Furthermore, the Europeans assure the Ukrainian leader of their full support for "any final decision on specific Ukrainian issues." And they reiterate that the international borders must not be changed by force: “decisions on the territory are up to the Ukrainian people, once solid security guarantees are actually in place,” they stressed, effectively endorsing the hypothesis of a referendum.
