On November 19, the US government announced that it was waiting for an official response from Ukraine to new proposals on resolving the conflict.
A US official said Washington is waiting to see how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will act after a high-level meeting was suddenly called off.
The source confirmed that the scheduled meeting in Turkey between President Zelensky and the US presidential special mission for peacekeeping missions, Mr. Steven Witkoff, had been postponed at the last minute.
Regarding the reason for this decision, the US side said that Ukraine has begun to change its stance on previously reached consensus on the US- proposed peace plan, which is said to be the "28-point Roadmap" inspired by the Gaza model.
The US official revealed that Mr. Zelensky plans to travel to Turkey with another plan drafted with European partners. However, the US side strictly assesses that this replacement plan is unrealistic and unlikely to be accepted by Russia.
In addition to diplomatic disagreements, another US official revealed another sensitive reason related to the internal situation in Ukraine.
Recent corruption investigations - known as the "Midas Campaign" that broke out on November 10 - targeting some of Zelensky's close advisers were also a factor that delayed the meeting.
The scandal is related to allegations of embezzlement of energy aid, raising concerns about Kiev's transparency. The source said President Donald Trump directly supported the decision to cancel the meeting.
Washington's tough move shows that the US administration's patience with Ukraine may be declining. The US's refusal to review Zelensky's plans and his demand for a US-led path shows that Washington is seeking to take the initiative in shaping negotiation terms.
In response to the above information, the Russian side has responded cautiously. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had not received any information from Washington through official channels about the agreements that the media was referring to.
The Kremlin has also said it is not working on any new initiatives outside the existing framework, although US sources have confirmed that there have been direct consultations with Russia.
