The Japan Times - Zelensky in Berlin for high-stakes talks with US envoys, Europeans

While fighting raged on in Ukraine, Zelensky was expected to be greeted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who on Monday is also due to host other European leaders, among them Britain's Keir Starmer, and the heads of NATO and the EU.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner were seen entering a Berlin hotel on Sunday, as were top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and a German senior official, Bild daily reported.

The German chancellery and the US embassy, contacted by AFP, declined to comment on that meeting.

As he headed to Germany, Zelensky said Sunday he was ready for "dialogue" on ending the almost four-year war that started with Russia launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"The summit in Berlin is important," he added. "We are meeting with both the Americans and the Europeans... And today these meetings are taking place in Berlin, today and tomorrow."

Zelensky said he hoped the United States would back the idea of freezing the front line where it is, rather than Ukraine ceding the entire Donbas region as Moscow demands.

"The fairest possible option is to 'stay where we are'," Zelensky told reporters in an online briefing.

"This is true because it is a ceasefire... I know that Russia does not view this positively, and I would like the Americans to support us on this issue."

Trump has been stepping up pressure on Kyiv to reach an agreement since revealing a plan last month to end the war that was criticised as echoing Moscow's demands.

The proposal has triggered a flurry of diplomacy between the United States and Ukraine's European allies, with Kyiv officials recently saying they had sent Washington a revised version.

Zelensky told reporters he had not received a response from Washington on Ukraine's amendments, but added: "I am receiving all the signals and will be ready for the dialogue that will begin today."

- New aerial strikes -

Last week Zelensky said that Washington was still pushing it to cede land to Russia.

Washington wants only Ukraine, not Russia, to withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk region, where a demilitarised "free economic zone" would be installed as a buffer, said Zelensky.

Europeans and Ukrainians are meanwhile asking the United States to provide them with "security guarantees" before Ukraine negotiates any territorial concessions, France said Friday.

Under the latest US plan, Ukraine would join the EU as early as January 2027, a senior official familiar with the matter told AFP on Friday on condition of anonymity.

A White House official confirmed to AFP on Friday that Witkoff would meet with Zelensky and European leaders over the weekend to discuss the status of peace negotiations.

Zelensky said on Sunday: "The most important thing is that the plan should be as fair as possible, first and foremost for Ukraine, because Russia started the war."

The latest push in the efforts to put an end to the war that has killed tens of thousands came as Kyiv reported new aerial strikes.

According to its air force, Russia launched 138 drones and a ballistic missile overnight.

A Russian drone has hit "one of the hospitals in Kherson", the regional administration said on Telegram, wounding two people, including a nurse.

Seven people were wounded in the strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region, governor Ivan Fedorov said.

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S.Fujimoto--JT