Europe and Ukraine must be involved in circulating US-Russian peace plan, European diplomats say
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Ukraine and Europe must be consulted on any effort to end Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, senior European diplomats said Thursday, as reports emerged of a U.S.-Russian proposal to end the war at a time when allegations of corruption have rocked Ukraine’s government.
Talk of a secret peace plan has increased pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also marshaling his country’s defenses against Russia’s largest army, visiting European leaders to ensure they continue to support Ukraine and brokering a major corruption scandal involving the troubled energy sector that has sparked public outrage.
“For any plan to work, you need buy-in from Ukrainians and Europeans,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels of foreign ministers from the 27 bloc.
Representatives of EU countries agreed. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that “all negotiations on a ceasefire, regarding the peaceful development of Ukraine, can only be discussed and negotiated with Ukraine. And Europe will have to be included.”
It was unclear whether foreign ministers had seen the peace plan, which was reportedly drawn up by U.S. and Russian envoys, and which would include forcing Ukraine to cede territory – a prospect Zelensky has ruled out.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday evening on social platform
Russia used more than 478 drones and dozens of missiles in an attack on Ternopil, Ukraine, that left at least 25 people dead.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that there are “no consultations per se currently underway” with the United States on ending the war in Ukraine.
“There are certainly contacts, but processes that could be called consultations are not underway,” he told journalists.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he did not know whether the proposal had the blessing of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“We must first of all know if it is really the big ones who [are] behind this plan or not,” he said. “I listened to all the rumors [and] we really need to find out what’s happening and what’s not happening. »
European leaders have already been alarmed this year by indications that the Trump administration could sideline them and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in its efforts to end the fighting.
EU diplomats have accused Putin of being insincere in saying he wants peace but refusing to compromise in negotiations while continuing Russia’s relentless war of attrition in Ukraine.
Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, criticized Putin’s forces for continuing to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, a day after a strike on the western town of Ternopil killed 26 people and injured 93 others. Around twenty people were still missing.
Kallas said that “if Russia really wanted peace, it could have…agreed [an] unconditional ceasefire already some time ago. »
Trump stopped sending military aid directly to Ukraine, with European countries taking over by purchasing weapons for Ukraine from the United States. This gave Europe leverage in negotiations to end the conflict.
“We welcome the peace efforts, but Europe is Ukraine’s main supporter and of course it is Europe’s security that is at stake. So we hope to be consulted,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said.
