Ukraine and its European allies scrambled on Saturday, November 22, to come up with counter-proposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to conclude the war that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands. President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met on Saturday on the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency declared. The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, the presidency declared.
Starmer had earlier declared the aim was to “see at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of neobtainediations.” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen declared the allies should create it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
US Vice President JD Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, stateing it “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.” “There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he added.
Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky declared in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.
Ukraine, US launching talks
A top Ukrainian official on Saturday declared Kyiv would launch talks with the US in Switzerland to discuss ways to conclude the war. The delegation will be led by Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak.
“In the coming days in Switzerland we are launching consultations between senior officials of Ukraine and the United States on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement,” Rustem Umerov, who is on Ukraine’s neobtainediating team, wrote on social media.
“This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” added Umerov, a former defence minister, who is now the Secretary of the Security Council.
He previously led a few rounds of neobtainediations with Russia in Turkey, which yielded no breakthrough. This time, Zelensky appointed his top aide, Andriy Yermak, to lead the team, according to a presidential decree.
The decree declared the talks will also include “representatives of the Russian Federation.” There were no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks.
Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line. Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war launched, as Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure.
Leave a Reply