Geneva (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Top officials from America, Ukraine, and national security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany will hold discussions in Geneva on Sunday to examine the US’s draft plan to conclude the fighting in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which requires Ukraine to give up its aspirations to join NATO, accept military limitations, and cede territory.
“We hope to iron out the final details…to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine),”
a U.S. official stated. In reference to Trump and Zelenskiy,
“Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together.”
Which European and Western nations are joining the discussions?
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were scheduled to arrive for the negotiations to put an end to Russia’s invasion. According to the U.S. official, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Geneva prior to the negotiations.
Ukraine’s delegation is led by the head of Zelenskiy’s office, Andriy Yermak, and includes top security officials.
Together with the European Union, national security advisers from the E3 alliance—France, Britain, and Germany—will participate in the talks. According to diplomatic sources, Italy would also send an official. Moreover, Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, promised to discuss the peace plan with Zelenskiy later on Sunday.
How are Western leaders responding to the U.S. peace plan?
In an effort to reach a better agreement for Kyiv before Thursday’s deadline, European and other Western leaders stated on Saturday that the U.S. peace plan served as a foundation for negotiations to end the conflict but required “additional work”.
European and other Western leaders gathered on the fringes of a Group of 20 summit in South Africa to devise a coordinated response to Trump’s demand that Ukraine adopt his 28-point plan by Thursday.
According to a German government source, the U.S. administration and Ukraine have received a draft peace plan from Europe that is based on the American proposal.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,”
said the leaders of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work,”
they said in a statement.
How does Putin view the U.S.-backed proposal for peace?
Reports say that the US-backed peace plan, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, could serve as a foundation for ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow might, however, object to some of the plan’s unpopular proposals, especially those that call for the withdrawal of Russian forces from some areas they currently control.
Since Russia’s territorial gains are essential to its strategic goals in the conflict, this part of the plan is a major point of contention.
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