Western Leaders Say Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan Needs “Additional Work” Before Kyiv Can Accept It

Reuters

Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a morning Russian missile strike, 19 November 2025.

European and other Western leaders said on Saturday that a U.S. peace plan aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine could serve as a basis for negotiations, but insisted that it required “additional work” — part of a wider Western push to secure better terms for Kyiv ahead of a Thursday deadline.

Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, European and Western leaders sought to forge a coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Ukraine accept his 28-point peace proposal with Russia by Thursday.

The U.S. plan, which embraces several key Russian demands, has drawn cautious criticism across Europe, as leaders attempt to balance acknowledgement of Trump's efforts to halt the conflict with recognition that many provisions of the proposal are unacceptable to Kyiv.

“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” said leaders of the European Union, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway in a joint statement.

“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work,” the statement added.

Their remarks came after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Friday that Ukraine faced a stark choice — sacrifice its dignity and freedom or lose U.S. support — as he urged national unity and vowed never to betray his country.

As Western governments rushed to finalise a joint response, Ukraine announced it would hold discussions with senior U.S. officials in Switzerland on ways to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year.

“Ukraine will never be an obstacle to peace,” the Ukrainian presidency said. “Representatives of the Ukrainian state will defend the legitimate interests of the Ukrainian people and the foundations of European security.”

Zelenskiy said 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.”

Officials confirmed that national security advisers from the E3 — France, Britain and Germany — will meet EU, U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan.

On Friday, Trump set a deadline for Zelenskiy to approve his 28-point proposal, which demands that Ukraine cede territory, accept restrictions on its military and abandon 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,” Trump said. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something he hasn’t accepted.”

Recalling a tense meeting with Zelenskiy earlier this year, Trump added: “You remember right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, ‘You don’t have the cards.’”

In their joint statement, Western leaders voiced concern about proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, arguing that such restrictions would leave Kyiv vulnerable to future attacks.

“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,” they said.

Source: Reuters



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