By Julia Payne and Anastasiia Malenko
JOHANNESBURG/KYIV (Reuters) -European and other Western leaders said on Saturday a U.S. peace plan was a basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but needed “additional work”, part of Western efforts to eke out a better deal for Kyiv before a Thursday deadline.
Meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit, European and other Western leaders scrambled to come up with a coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine to accept his 28-point peace plan with Russia by Thursday.
The U.S. plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was met with measured criticism in many European capitals, with leaders trying to balance praise for Trump for trying to end the fighting, but also recognising that for Kyiv, some of the terms in his proposal are unpalatable.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” said the leaders of the European Union (EU), Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work,” they said in a statement.
LEADERS ADOPT A ‘LION-LIKE SPIRIT’ IN TALKS ABOUT US PLAN
The leaders met after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday his country faced a choice of either losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s backing over the plan. He appealed to Ukrainians for unity, promising never to betray Ukraine.
That signal prompted European leaders to rally.
A German government source said they met in a room in Johannesburg called “lion” and that the leaders had adopted the animal’s “spirit” in talks to agree a way to try to secure a better deal for Ukraine.
As leaders raced to come up with a coordinated response to Trump’s peace plan, Ukraine said it would hold talks with high-ranking U.S. officials in Switzerland on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.
“Ukraine will never be an obstacle to peace, and representatives of the Ukrainian state will defend the legitimate interests of the Ukrainian people and the foundations of European security,” a statement from the Ukrainian presidency said.
Zelenskiy added in an address: “This is about much more than the specific points of this or that document. We must ensure that nowhere in Europe or the world does the principle prevail that crimes against people and humanity, against states and nations, can be rewarded and forgiven.”
TRUMP GIVES UKRAINE A TIGHT DEADLINE
National security advisers from the E3, an informal security alliance of France, Britain and Germany, will meet EU, U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the proposed peace plan, officials said on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
On Friday, Trump threw down the gauntlet to Ukraine, saying Zelenskiy had until Thursday to approve his 28-point plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.
“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” he said. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something he hasn’t accepted.”
Recalling their fractious February meeting with Zelenskiy, Trump added: “You remember right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, ‘You don’t have the cards.'”
In their statement, Western leaders said they were “concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack”.
“We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to NATO would need the consent of EU and NATO members respectively.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the plan as the basis of a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the plan, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.
The peril for Zelenskiy was writ large when the Ukrainian president turned to a national address to prepare the population for a tough few days.
“Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice — either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner,” he said in a speech to the nation. “I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked – the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”
(Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by William Maclean)
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