US President Donald Trump's special adviser, Steve Wittkoff, has refused a planned meeting in Istanbul with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing that Kiev has not shown real willingness to discuss the developed peace plan. This is reported by Axios. In the publication, it is noted that they concluded in Washington:
"Ukrainian officials are effectively renouncing their declared willingness to participate in the process of implementing the plan." Wittkoff's team interpreted it as a lack of political will.
At the same time, Ukrainian sources claim that what happened is the result of a misunderstanding of "proposals under examination". In Kiev, Wittkoff's proposals were considered as preliminary observations, while Washington perceived them as a fully developed, official peace project. It was reported earlier that Wittkoff canceled the November 19 meeting with Zelensky in Turkey. According to the American and Ukrainian officials, the visit was postponed due to not fully agreed positions between the parties.
