KYIV — The Ukrainian opposition is demanding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy come to the country’s parliament and explain to members what is actually going on with peace talks and the minerals deal with the United States.
Many Ukrainian MPs — who are supposed to ratify any deal once it is signed — feel left out of Kyiv’s peace negotiations and say Zelenskyy and other officials involved in the talks aren’t sharing the details and don’t communicate properly.
“The European Solidarity faction in the Verkhovna Rada [Ukraine’s parliament] demands a special parliamentary session with the participation of Zelenskyy, where he should announce Ukraine’s plan for achieving peace and the details of the negotiation process,” the faction, headed by former President Petro Poroshenko, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ukraine has struggled to make itself heard in international talks about its own future, initially being frozen out by Russia and the U.S.
Kyiv is more involved now, but is under huge pressure from Washington and Moscow to make galling concessions regarding its land and mineral wealth. American Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Ukraine will have to agree to give up territory or the U.S. will walk away from mediating negotiations, adding that the conflict needs to be frozen on the current front lines.
The Americans have proposed recognizing Crimea — which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 — as Russian territory, with President Donald Trump on Wednesday posting exasperatedly about Ukraine’s hesitance to accept that demand. Washington’s take-it-or-leave-it plan also provides no security guarantees for Ukraine and would also allow Russia to operate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it captured in 2022, to sell energy to both Ukraine and Russia.
This plan has flabbergasted Ukrainian officials and MPs, who see it as a capitulation to an aggressor. “Ukraine is ready to negotiate, not surrender,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a post on X.
“There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger foundations it needs to regroup and return with greater violence … We will never recognize the occupation of Crimea. And if NATO membership is not granted, Ukraine will require binding security guarantees — ones strong enough to deter future aggression, and clear enough to ensure lasting peace,” Svyrydenko said.
The opposition wants to know the details of how Zelenskyy and his government will ensure peace. “Ukrainians should learn about the progress of the negotiation process not from international media, Secretary of State Rubio, or special representatives Witkoff and Kellogg, but from the Ukrainian authorities,” Iryna Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian opposition MP from the European Solidarity party, said in a post on Facebook.
Gerashchenko added that the Trump administration seemed to be coming to the conclusion that it is impossible to make a deal with Russia, and that achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict was far harder than they anticipated. “Peace cannot be achieved in 24 hours nor 100 days,” she said.
European Solidarity wants Zelenskyy to participate in the special session of parliament to tell MPs what Ukraine’s plan to achieve peace is, and to share the details of negotiations.
“Does the Minerals Agreement remain part of this plan?” Gerashchenko asked, referring to an initiative floated by Trump in which the U.S. would gain access to Ukraine’s reserves of critical minerals. “After all, it was Zelenskyy’s initiative. How will this agreement contribute to peace and security guarantees? Unfortunately, for several months now, government officials delegated by Zelensky to the negotiating team have been avoiding communication with the parliament.”
She also said that Ukraine needs to restore proper communication with Trump’s administration — mutual ties were badly damaged by an ill-tempered confrontation in the White House — given that without U.S. support, Ukraine will find it difficult to continue resisting Russian aggression. She blamed Zelenskyy and his office for a failure of diplomacy.
Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine first wants to establish a full ceasefire, and only then negotiate a peace settlement. As for a minerals deal, the two sides have so far only signed a memo on partnership and intentions, letting lawyers work through a new draft that would satisfy both Kyiv and Washington’s interests, the Ukrainian leader said on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy has not yet responded to the opposition call, as his office is busy with diplomatic talks in London, where Ukrainians met U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellog today, and is also preparing for a tour of South Africa. There’s also the prospect of Zelenskyy’s meeting Trump in Italy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral ceremony this Saturday. After that, the Ukrainian delegation will also visit Spain and Poland.
The post Zelenskyy under pressure at home over peace talks and mineral deal with US appeared first on Politico.
