According to him, the fact that the parties outlined their vision of a peace agreement is already the first and desired step for the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Vance said that now is the case of diplomacy. She must try to somehow bring the sides closer.
He noted that there is a “huge abyss” between what the Russians want, and what Ukrainians are striving for.
Context
On April 25, Reuters published the full text of the final proposal of the United States on a peace agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. It says, in particular, that the United States de-Jure recognizes Crimea by the Russian territory, de facto recognizes the control of the Russian Federation over the Lugansk region and units of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions.
On the same day, Reuters unveiled the response of Ukraine and the EU to the US peaceful proposals. The Ukrainian-European document proposes to postpone a detailed discussion of territorial issues before the conclusion of a ceasefire, without mentioning the recognition of Russian control over any territory of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with Globe on April 28 named the conditions that Russia puts forward to ceasefire. Among them are the demilitarization of Ukraine, the recognition of Russian sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions and Crimea, the removal of all sanctions.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly stated that he did not recognize the occupied territories in parts of Russia, but recently noted that now Ukraine does not have enough weapons to return the peninsula.
