EU allies reject key parts of US-Russia plan to end Ukraine war
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The news: European leaders on Friday rejected key elements of the 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan proposed by the US, as Washington dials up pressure on Ukraine to accept the deal.
The context: Bloomberg reports that a statement from the German government. Said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer of the UK agreed on a call with Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine’s armed forces must remain capable of defending its sovereignty and that the current line of contact should be the starting point for any peace talks.
Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that the US threatened to stop intelligence-sharing and weapons supplies to Ukraine and pull out of all processes unless Kyiv agrees to the deal.
Under US President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan, the regions of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk would be “recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States,” Ukraine would have to hold elections in 100 days, abandon plans of NATO membership and drastically reduce the size of its armed forces. These significant concessions to Russia from Ukraine have been long rejected by Kyiv.
Sources told Reuters that Kyiv was under greater pressure from Washington to agree to the deal than during any previous peace discussions, and that the US wanted Ukraine to sign a framework of the deal by next Thursday.
What they said: Writing on X following the call with EU leaders of Friday, Zelensky wrote: “We discussed the plan for peace for Ukraine and all of Europe. We value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war. We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace. We are coordinating closely to make sure that the principled stances are taken into account. We coordinated the next steps and agreed that our teams will work together at the corresponding levels.”
The sources: Bloomberg, NYT, FT, Zelensky X, Reuters
