on the peace plan that seeks to end the imperialist war launched by Russia in February 2022. Washington and kyiv spoke of great progress after an intense and hasty high-level meeting on Sunday in Geneva (Switzerland), in which the Ukrainian delegation was supported by European representatives. “As a result of the talks, the parties developed an updated and refined peace framework,” says a joint statement from Washington and kyiv issued early in the morning, emphasizing that “any future agreement must fully respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.” However, there are great doubts about how this new framework is sustained, which is based on , which included major red lines for Ukraine, such as the cession of territories, the veto to enter NATO and a considerable reduction in its Army.
European leaders are holding an extraordinary meeting this Monday morning, which coincides with the EU-African Union summit, and to which leaders who have not attended Luanda (Angola) will connect by videoconference, according to a spokeswoman for the president of the European Council, António Costa.
I spoke with this morning. I welcome the progress made at yesterday’s meetings between US and Ukraine in Geneva.
The negotiations were a step forward, but there are still major issues which remain to be resolved.
Any decision falling in the remit of EU or NATO…
— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb)
The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, has spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, and although he also speaks of “progress” in the negotiation, he has warned that there are still major pending issues. “The negotiations have represented progress, but there are still important issues to be resolved. Any decision that falls within the competence of the EU or NATO will be discussed and decided by the members of the EU and NATO in a separate channel,” the Finnish leader, one of the Europeans who has the best relationship with the US president, Donald Trump, said on social media.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the White House team in Geneva, spoke of “tremendous progress.” Zelensky’s Chief of Staff, Andrii Yermak, who headed the Ukrainian delegation in the Swiss city, expressed the same tone.
Zelensky noted this Monday that Ukraine and the United States will continue working on a plan with proposals to “strengthen and not weaken Ukraine.” In a video during a meeting of the Crimea platform, held in Sweden, the Ukrainian president stressed that Russia must pay for the war and that the decision on freezing European territory due to sanctions is “crucial.”
Neither Ukraine nor the United States have revealed the content of the new framework agreement, which has amended the 28-point plan outlined by Moscow and Washington and which established that kyiv must cede territory to the Kremlin, limit its army and renounce its ambitions to join NATO. However, the basis, the foundations of this principle of agreement, remains that road map drawn up without the participation of Ukraine or Europe, which kyiv and the Europeans have tried to modify as much as possible to limit the extent of the damage.
The Ukrainian and European idea, according to sources familiar with the negotiation, is to shield Ukraine with solid security guarantees that would allow them to defend it in the event of a new aggression (something that would function as a deterrent for the Kremlin), as well as the promise that kyiv will not be forced to limit the weight of its army and its weapons so much, as the 28-point plan points out. On the table is the idea of a force of 800,000 troops in peacetime, instead of the 600,000 indicated in the Russian-American road map. They also seek to clarify and limit as much as possible the clauses according to which the invaded country would be forced to give up territory.
A working document reported by Reuters on Sunday also proposed, among other things, that the security guarantee offered by the United States should be like that of NATO Article 5 (which provides for the mutual defense of partners in the event of an attack); that Ukraine hold elections as soon as possible after the pact — instead of a fixed deadline of 100 days as set out in the Russian-American plan; that Ukraine’s integration into NATO depends on the consensus of all members and that this does not exist – instead of the obligation for kyiv to insert the renunciation of accession into the Ukrainian constitution; that NATO agrees not to deploy troops to Ukraine in peacetime—rather than simply.
The Europeans, who have been debating for weeks a proposal from the European Commission to pay (mainly in Belgium) for sanctions, also demand that these funds be delivered to kyiv as compensation and used for reconstruction. Meanwhile, the Russian-American plan states that some 100 billion of Russian assets will be invested in reconstruction and investments in Ukraine, but in a format led by the United States, which would receive 50% of the benefits. Europe would also add, according to this plan drawn up without the Europeans, another 100 billion for reconstruction.
Trump had set Thursday (the day on which Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States) the deadline for kyiv to accept the plan. However, despite this very peremptory calendar, the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, was willing for Washington to open its hand with the deadline. Rubio assured that he feels “very optimistic” about the possibility of reaching an agreement in a “very reasonable time.”
