Ukraine’s Government Representatives, Not Yermak and Umerov Who Were Not Elected, Should Attend Peace Talks With the US

Ukrainian MP Kostenko demands parliament be included in US peace plan talks, questioning delegation composition and transparency, as Geneva negotiations continue on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Representatives of the parliament must definitely be part of the negotiation delegation with the United States.

This was stated by Roman Kostenko, an MP from the Holos party and secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, as reported by Censor.NET.

Kostenko recalled that the Trump administration did not fully know about the “peace plan.”

“Information is spreading that even Trump didn’t know exactly what was in those points, and Rubio apparently could not initially answer members of Congress about who wrote them. So both we and even the Americans did not fully understand where this document came from, yet we went to discuss it,” he noted.

At the same time, Kostenko says he does not understand who determined the agenda of the Ukrainian delegation and who decided on its composition.

“Why are there no members of parliament — the legislative branch of power? The head of the Presidential Office went, the head of the National Security and Defense Council went, government representatives went, but not ministers, even though we have the Verkhovna Rada and the heads of ministries.

What were they negotiating there? I, for one, don’t know. Just like I don’t know what Ukraine’s position is. And when, following the talks, they say: ‘We removed half of the anti-Ukrainian points,’ I’m curious — what exactly are we talking about? There’s no specificity. Show us! Let’s discuss it so that everyone is informed about what is happening,” he said.

The MP believes that if there is an agreement with the United States to hold negotiations behind closed doors, then representatives of all branches of the Ukrainian government must be present.

“In the end, it will be the parliament that has to vote for the document that is produced. And if, after the latest corruption scandals, they bring us something else questionable as well, there will be a lot of debate. I’m not sure that even the ‘Servants’ would vote for it under such circumstances.

Therefore, either the Speaker or another representative of the Verkhovna Rada must be at the negotiating table. Because neither the head of the Presidential Office nor the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council was elected by anyone. Especially since the press reported that they might appear on NABU recordings. Personally, I have no trust in this negotiating group,” he concluded.

Peace Plan

On Sunday, November 23, negotiations began in Geneva between the Ukrainian and US delegations on a peace plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Earlier reports indicated that the Ukrainian delegation had already met with EU advisers in Geneva.

Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the first results of the talks, which are taking place in Geneva with the participation of the US, Ukraine, EU, and UK delegations regarding the American plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, said that the current draft of the US peace plan to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine is in the final stages of approval and already reflects most of Ukraine’s key priorities.

Following the negotiations in Geneva on Sunday, November 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Washington team would make “some changes” to the American peace plan.

EMPR