'Russia's consent not needed at all': diplomat Taylor on 20-point peace plan

American diplomat William Taylor, who served as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine from 2006-2009 and as Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Mission in Kyiv from 2019-2020, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"Regarding the 20-point plan, or 'puzzle,' I believe that significant progress has been made between the Ukrainian and American sides, with the participation of European partners, in coordinating these provisions. This can truly be viewed as an important step forward," Taylor said.

The diplomat is convinced that Russia's main goal in the negotiation process is to delay. He emphasized that the Kremlin does not take peace negotiations seriously.

"At the same time, I see no basis to believe that Russia has joined this process. Frankly speaking, I don't believe the Russians are taking these negotiations seriously. They are dragging out the process and deliberately stalling. Their goal is to buy more time. Putin does not view these negotiations as a real path to a settlement," he noted.

The former ambassador also stressed that security guarantees from the United States and Europe must protect Ukraine from a repeated Russian invasion.

"So, despite the significant progress achieved between the Americans, Ukrainians, and Europeans regarding this 20-point plan, there is no indication that Russia is prepared to support it—and ultimately, we don't need them to consent to it. As for discussing security matters, Russia's consent is not necessary for the security guarantees that the United States provides to Ukraine, nor for the guarantees provided by European partners, nor for the actions that the coalition of states supporting Ukraine is prepared to take. We don't need Russia's consent. We must act because we seek security for Ukraine, we seek to prevent a repeated invasion, and we want Russia to be deterred from any further aggressive actions," the diplomat added.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on a visit to Paris on January 6, where he met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
• Following the meeting, Zelenskyy, Macron, and Starmer signed a declaration of intent regarding the deployment of multinational forces in Ukraine.