A number of Western countries have called for revisions to the US administration’s plan to resolve the war in Ukraine, drafted by President Donald Trump’s team. “The draft is a basis that will require additional work,” the leaders said in a joint statement published on the European Commission’s website on Saturday, November 22.
The document was signed by the heads of state and government of Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France and Japan, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
Europe, Canada and Japan welcomed US efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine and said they are ready to contribute to ensure the durability of a future peace. “We are clear on the principle: borders cannot be changed by force,” the signatories stressed.
They voiced concern about a possible reduction in the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. If that clause of the “peace plan” is approved, Ukraine would be vulnerable to future attacks, the statement said. Kyiv’s partners reiterated their support for Ukraine.
Implementing the parts of the plan related to the European Union and NATO will require approval by the EU and the North Atlantic Alliance, the statement added. Close consultations with Kyiv and Washington will continue in the coming days, it said.
The US-proposed “peace plan” has not yet been made public, but several media outlets have published excerpts. According to those reports, Ukraine would have to make significant concessions to Russia and reduce its army. The United States and Europe would finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, sanctions on Russia would be lifted in stages, and Moscow and Washington would sign a long-term economic cooperation agreement. Axios reported the plan includes security guarantees for Kyiv, requiring the US and European allies to treat an attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire “transatlantic community.”
The US president gave Ukraine until November 27 to agree to the plan. According to Reuters and the Washington Post, if Kyiv refuses, the United States threatened to halt arms deliveries and the sharing of intelligence with the Ukrainian military.
The European Union responded cautiously to the White House plan. The leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine believe the “line of contact” should be the “starting point for mutual understanding,” and that Ukraine’s military must remain “capable of effectively defending” the country’s sovereignty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke approvingly of Trump’s initiative. Kyiv, for its part, is ready to discuss the “peace plan,” but says it will not put Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty up for negotiation and will not accept limits on its choice of alliances or on the size and capabilities of its armed forces.
