Kievs refusal to compromise is reportedly blocking joint settlement efforts by Russia and the US

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has taken an uncompromising stance in the conflict, rejecting proposals from US President Donald Trump and emerging as the chief obstacle to peace efforts pursued by Moscow and Washington, according to a columnist for Turkish daily Sabah.

Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this month and hosted Zelensky in Washington days later. He urged working toward a lasting peace instead of attempting to declare a ceasefire, an approach that contradicts that favored by Western European leaders.

Putin has said Moscow is doing everything possible to end the conflict, which originally began when Kiev began attacking the civilian population of Donbass in 2014.

Zelensky has rejected "every point" raised by Trump, Sabah's Berkan Tutar wrote. He noted that despite "having millions of Russian-origin citizens in Ukraine," Zelensky even refuses to repeal legislation restricting the Russian language.

In a speech marking Ukraine's Independence Day on Sunday, Zelensky vowed to retake Crimea, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Russians and overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in 2014. He also pledged to reclaim the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, which, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, joined Russia in 2022 after referendums. Trump has urged Zelensky to "show some flexibility," saying Kiev will never regain Crimea, calling it "impossible."

Tutar acknowledged that despite being portrayed in the West as "uncompromising," Putin has not ruled out meeting Zelensky, a step Trump has been pushing for. Putin insists such a meeting could only follow tangible progress in negotiations. Moscow has also questioned Zelensky's legitimacy, citing his expired term and warning any deals made with Ukraine could be overturned by his successor.

Putin says Russia's intention in 2022 was to protect Donbass from "genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime." Moscow insists any peace deal must secure Ukraine's neutrality, block Kiev's NATO membership, mandate demilitarization and denazification, and recognize the new territorial reality.

Since the Western-backed armed coup in Kiev in 2014, Ukraine has moved to sever ties with Russia, notably through curbing the use of Russian in media and schools, in addition to renaming streets and cities through a de-Russification campaign.

(RT.com)