Europe’s counterproposal for peace in Ukraine: Trump’s 28 points, reconstructed

European version foresees more soldiers in the Ukrainian army and important changes in the delimitation of borders and NATO presence. Non-aggression policy will have to be in Russian law and not just be “expected”. Russia has already reacted: “it doesn’t suit us”.

Ukraine’s European allies from the E3 group (United Kingdom, France and Germany) responded to the peace plan presented by the Trump administration, seen as excessively favorable to Russia.

In Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States this Sunday, which took place one of the most productive diplomatic meetings between the two countries until now. The Europeans, in turn, presented a counterproposal that reinforces Ukrainian sovereignty, keeps the NATO path open and improves security guarantees. Conditions for Moscow have been toughened under Trump’s plan, with some red linesbut also keeps incentives for the end of the war, such as the relief of sanctions and a possible return to the G8.

What world leaders say

The French leader Emmanuel Macron warned of the risk of Russia re-invading Ukraine in the future if Kiev were pressured to drastically reduce its armed forces or to give up on possible membership of NATO, two conditions present in the original version of the North American plan and changed in the European counter-proposal.

The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merzreportedly expressed similar concerns in a call with Trump, highlighting the “serious consequences for all of Europe” if Ukraine were allowed to collapse after a military defeat.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sought, for her part, to set a more constructive tone, admitting that the ongoing talks created a “solid basis for moving forward”, leaving everything open.

In Washington, Trump leans both ways. Less than 24 hours after accusing Zelenskyy of “” US efforts, the US President turned to Truth Social to admit that “something good could really be happening” in peace talks.

The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, sought to put an end to the idea introduced by Trump that there is a deadline to respond to the initial plan which, little by little, seems to be being reformulated: he said that deadlines are “fluid” and that the Russians also have a vote in this process, despite Moscow not participating in this round of discussions in Geneva.

It is within this framework that the European counter-proposal comes into play, also structured into 28 points, but with important changes to the Trumpist version.

Before presenting the 28 points released by , let us point out some of the most relevant changes.

Ukrainian army, NATO, borders

In the first place, the military issue: the North American plan envisaged reducing the Ukrainian army to 600 thousand soldiers, the Europeans increased this number to 800 mil, recognizing that a country at war and with vulnerable borders needs to maintain robust defense capabilities.

Afterwards, the NATO. Trump’s version required that Ukraine make a constitutional commitment not to join the Atlantic Alliance and that NATO itself include this barrier in its statutes. The European proposal softens this renunciation and focuses instead on ensuring that there will be no NATO troops permanently stationed in Ukraine.

As borders and the fate of Donbass are another central point. The American plan assumed that Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk would be recognized as “de facto Russian” and that the borders would be frozen at the administrative limit of the province of Donbass. Europeans propose that the freeze takes place on the current front line, allowing Ukraine to keep around 12% of Donbassincluding cities such as Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka, a “belt of fortifications” considered crucial in containing the Russian advance since 2014. In return, Kiev would undertake not to recover, through military means, the sovereign territory currently occupied. To ensure compliance with the agreement, a monitoring team would be created involving the United States, Ukraine, Russia and European partners.

The European proposal also addresses the request to Russia to hand over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which would be responsible for managing and sharing energy production in equal parts between Kiev and Moscow.

Another proposal is the use of frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine: we want to prevent these funds from being diverted to private investors.

And there are the incentives to Moscow: If Russia respects “sustainable peace”, sanctions imposed since 2014 would be gradually lifted and the country could be readmitted non-G8. But, contrary to the vague formulation of the American plan, which only expressed the “expectation” that Moscow would not invade its neighbors or expand militarily again, Europeans demand that the Kremlin establish, by law, a policy of non-aggression towards Europe and Ukraine.

Here are the 28 points of peace outlined by Europeans, published by Reuters:

1. Ukraine’s sovereignty will be reconfirmed.

2. A full and complete non-aggression agreement will be reached between Russia, Ukraine and NATO. All the ambiguities of the last 30 years will be resolved.

3. (The one in the US plan was eliminated. A draft version of that plan said: There will be an expectation that Russia will not invade its neighbors and that NATO will not expand further.)

4. After the signing of a peace agreement, a dialogue will be convened between Russia and NATO to address all security issues and create a de-escalation environment to ensure global security and increase opportunities for connectivity and future economic opportunities.

5. Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees.

6. The size of Ukraine’s armed forces will be limited to 800,000 in peacetime.

7. Ukraine’s membership in NATO depends on the consensus of NATO members, which does not exist.

8. NATO agrees not to permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime.

9. NATO fighters will be stationed in Poland.

10. US guarantee mirroring Article 5:

the. The US will receive compensation for the guarantee

b. If Ukraine invades Russia, it will lose its guarantee

w. If Russia invades Ukraine, in addition to a coordinated and robust military response, all global sanctions will be restored and any type of recognition of the new territory and all other benefits of this agreement will be withdrawn.

11. Ukraine is eligible for EU membership and will have preferential short-term access to the European market while this is being assessed

12. Robust global reconstruction package for Ukraine, including but not limited to:

the. Creating a Ukraine Development Fund to invest in high-growth industries, including technology, data centers and AI efforts

b. The United States will partner with Ukraine to jointly restore, expand, modernize, and operate Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, which includes its gas pipelines and storage facilities

w. A joint effort to rebuild war-affected areas in order to restore, rebuild and modernize cities and residential areas

d. Infrastructure development

and. Extraction of mineral and natural resources

f. A special financing package will be developed by the World Bank to accelerate these efforts.

13. Russia will be progressively reintegrated into the global economy

the. Sanctions relief will be discussed and agreed in phases and on a case-by-case basis.

b. The United States will enter into a long-term Economic Cooperation Agreement to promote mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, AI, data centers, rare earths, joint projects in the Arctic, as well as several other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities.

w. Russia will be invited to return to the G8

14. Ukraine will be fully rebuilt and compensated financially, including through Russian sovereign assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates for the damage caused to Ukraine.

15. A joint security working group will be created with the participation of the US, Ukraine, Russia and Europeans to promote and enforce all provisions of this agreement

16. Russia will legislatively enshrine a policy of non-aggression towards Europe and Ukraine

17. The United States and Russia agree to extend nuclear nonproliferation and control treaties, including Fair Start.

18. Ukraine agrees to remain a non-nuclear state under the NPT.

19. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be restarted under IAEA supervision, and the energy produced will be shared equally in a 50-50 split between Russia and Ukraine.

20. Ukraine will adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and protection of linguistic minorities.

21. Territories. Ukraine undertakes not to recover its sovereign territory occupied by military means. Negotiations on territorial exchanges will begin via the Contact Line.

22. Once future territorial agreements are agreed, both the Russian Federation and Ukraine commit not to alter these agreements by force. Any security guarantees will not apply if there is a breach of this obligation.

23. Russia will not obstruct Ukraine’s use of the Dnieper River for commercial activities, and agreements will be reached so that grain shipments can flow freely through the Black Sea.

24. A humanitarian commission will be created to resolve open issues:

the. All remaining prisoners and bodies will be exchanged based on the principle of All for All

b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children

w. There will be a family reunification program

d. Measures will be taken to address the suffering of victims of the conflict

25. Ukraine will hold elections as soon as possible after the signing of the peace agreement.

26. Measures will be taken to address the suffering of victims of the conflict.

27. This agreement will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored and guaranteed by a Peace Council, chaired by President Donald J. Trump. There will be penalties for violation.

28. After all parties agree to this memorandum, a ceasefire will come into effect immediately after both parties withdraw to the agreed points to begin implementation of the agreement. The modalities of the ceasefire, including monitoring, will be agreed by both sides under US supervision.

The proposal is now being discussed in parallel with Washington and Kiev, while talks take place in Geneva.

“It doesn’t suit us”, responds Kremlin

After optimistically receiving the first North American version, Russia rejected the modifications introduced by European countries.

“We have become aware of the European plan which, at first glance, is absolutely unconstructive, it does not suit us,” said presidential advisor for international affairs, Yuri Ushakov, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE. And he adds: “no one carried out any specific negotiations with Russian representatives on this matter”.

“We know that there are certain signs in this regard, but there is no concrete agreement on a meeting between Russian and North American representatives”, pointed out the Russian official, who calls the peace plan a “project”.