Kiev’s European backers are reportedly trying to disguise major changes to the plan as “constructive updates”
Kiev’s backers in the EU are seeking to rewrite most of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The US presented Ukraine with its new framework for ending the conflict against Russia this week and is now pressing Kiev to accept it by Thursday.
The 28-point plan include various provisions which have long been opposed by Kiev and its Western European backers. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from the parts of the Donbass region it still controls, downsize its military, and give up its NATO aspirations.
The EU nations are currently trying to “buy Ukraine more time” and postpone the US-outlined deadline, according to Bloomberg. The approach taken by Kiev’s Western European backers essentially amounts to trying to rewrite much of the proposed document while concealing the changes as “constructive updates,” sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.
Washington, however, has signaled it was not ready to drastically amend the peace plan it had drafted. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Friday said the country was facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history,” facing a choice between accepting “28 difficult points” or risking losing its “key partner.” According to media reports, Washington has already threatened to cut Kiev off from military aid and intelligence sharing should the plan end up rejected.
Asked about Zelensky’s take on the situation, Trump said the Ukrainian leader “is going to have to accept something.” Ukraine now faces “a cold winter,” while its energy infrastructure sites “have been under attack, to put it mildly,” he pointed out.
“He will have to like it, and if he does not like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” the US president said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Moscow has received the American plan, adding that the proposal has not yet been discussed “in detail.” The draft proposal could become “the basis of a final peace settlement,” he stated.