Zelenskyy says Kyiv working with US, other partners on peace proposals

Ukraine will continue to work with partners including the US on peace proposals, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, the second day of talks in Switzerland after Washington proposed a plan calling for concessions from Kyiv.

“We all continue working with partners, especially the United States, to look for compromises that will strengthen but not weaken us,” Zelenskyy said via video link from Sweden where he was attending a summit of countries seeking Russian withdrawal from Ukraine's occupied Crimea Peninsula.

On Sunday, Ukraine and the United States said in a joint statement they had drafted a "refined peace framework" after talks in Geneva, although they did not provide specifics.

Zelenskyy said Russia must pay for the war in Ukraine and that a decision on using frozen Russian assets was crucial.

“Right now, we are at a critical moment," he said. “There is a lot of noise in the media, and all the political pressure, and even greater responsibility for the decisions ahead.”