The Ukrainian government does not want to simply accept the US peace plan to end Russia’s war of aggression and is now putting forward a proposal for a solution to the conflict. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj welcomed the initiative to end the war. Recalling US President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan, Ukraine demanding large concessions and relatively small concessions from Russia, he saw his country under great pressure and facing difficult choices.
Zelenskyj holds talks with EU leaders on sidelines of G20 summit of leading industrialized and developing countries Trump plans and possible counter suggestions. The US president gave Ukraine until Thursday to decide in principle on the plan. Critics classified the draft agreement as a declaration of de facto surrender due to the difficult conditions in Kiev – the absence of accession to NATO, permanent surrender of territory to Russia, reduction in the number of troops and other maximum demands from Moscow.
Zelensky spoke about one of the “most difficult moments” in Ukrainian history. He was faced with the decision of whether to lose his dignity or lose the United States as a major partner. Without the support of the largest military powers, which sell weapons to Ukraine and provide data to wage war against Russia, continuing the defensive struggle against the invaders will be much more difficult.
Trump: “We have a way”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Zelensky would have to approve the plan. But he couldn’t predict whether the Ukrainian player would do the same. If Zelensky doesn’t want that plan, he’ll have to keep fighting. Dan: At some point he has to accept something. “We have a way to achieve peace, or: We think we have a way to achieve peace,” Trump said.
When asked if he had spoken to Zelensky himself, Trump simply answered that he had spoken to his people – without going into specifics. The US President also recalled that he had told Zelenskyj during his visit to the Oval Office in February that he did not have any good cards in the matter.
Crisis talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and other leading heads of state and government from Europe will meet in South Africa on the sidelines of the summit in Johannesburg to discuss the crisis over the US move. This was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa after a conversation with Zelensky.
Merz spoke with Trump for the first time on Friday about the US peace plan for Ukraine. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius later said the telephone conversation was “credible and binding” and that “next steps” in coordination at the advisory level had been agreed. Merz will inform European partners about this.
According to EU officials, the heads of state and government of France, Italy and the UK will take part in Saturday’s meeting, in addition to Merz and EU leaders. Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway were also invited and attended the summit as guest countries this year.
European countries were shocked by Trump’s actions. According to information from the German government, they are currently preparing their own mediation document which is still being coordinated.
Zelensky wants a “fully coordinated plan”
During the conversation with von der Leyen and Costa, Zelensky said that he had informed them both about the US side’s proposals to end the war and about contacts with partners in Europe and the United States. “We all appreciate America’s and President Trump’s commitment to ending the war, and we are working together to ensure this is a fully integrated and coordinated plan,” he added.
After the conversation, Von der Leyen and Costa emphasized that they agreed that nothing could be decided without Ukraine. When funding their defense against Russia Ukraine is dependent on the EU.
The new 28-point plan from the US calls, among other things, on recognizing Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which were annexed by Russia, as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, as de facto Russian territory. To achieve this goal, Ukraine must constitutionally abandon its long-standing desire to join NATO, limit the size of its army to 600,000 men and remain free of nuclear weapons. In return, unspecified security guarantees were promised, but no details were provided.
One of the few concessions the plan made to Moscow was EU Frozen Russian state assets will be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“Propaganda written by Russia”
Even within Trump’s party there was widespread criticism of the draft agreement. “This Russian-made propaganda must be rejected and discarded for what it is: inconsequential nonsense,” wrote Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick in And the longtime Republican leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, warned: “Rewarding Russian carnage would be a disaster for American interests.”
Putin expressed his willingness to negotiate
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared open to negotiations and described Trump’s plan as a possible basis for a peaceful solution. This is an updated version of what has been discussed previously – for example at his meeting with Trump in Alaska in August – Putin said at a National Security Council meeting. In Alaska, America asked Russia to be willing to compromise and be flexible.
Trump’s new plan has not been discussed with the Russian side, said the Kremlin leader, whose adviser Kirill Dmitriev recently visited the US for talks and met there with Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff. Putin also received Witkoff as a guest in Moscow several times. The Russian side emphasized that the contents of the plan points that have now been submitted still need to be discussed in detail.
Doubts about Zelensky’s approval
At the same time, the Kremlin leader once again expressed doubt that Zelensky would accept the proposal. “Ukraine is against it,” he said. Apparently, Ukraine and its allies in Europe still dream of defeating Russia on the battlefield. The Europeans were incompetent and had no real information about the situation on the battlefield.
“On the whole, it suits us,” Putin said of Kiev’s statement. Russia will also achieve its goals militarily, but not as quickly. At a meeting with the military leadership on Thursday, Putin had stressed that he would not give up on his war aims – but that they were still ready to achieve those goals through peace negotiations. Putin has been waging war on his neighbors for more than three and a half years.
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