The efforts to refine a United States peace proposal, which was initially criticized for appearing to be weighted in favor of Russia’s maximalist demands, have been welcomed with caution by Ukraine’s allies.
The leaders of Germany, Finland, Poland, and the United Kingdom all agreed on Monday that progress had been made during the previous day’s Geneva talks between Washington and Kyiv, which the US and Ukraine called a “refined peace framework.”
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The leaders of Europe, however, emphasized how much work was still to be done.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “We also know that there won’t be peace in Ukraine overnight,” noting that the US’s initial peace plan had been “modified in significant parts.”
He applauded the “interim result.”
Merz, who was speaking at a summit between African and European Union countries, said, “Russia must come to the table next.” It takes a long time to complete. This week, it will advance at most in smaller steps. This week’s breakthrough does not seem to be coming, in my opinion.
Last week, US President Donald Trump presented a 28-point peace plan to Kyiv and its European neighbors as a Russian wish list that demanded that Ukraine cede more territory, accept restrictions on its military, and abandon their plans to join NATO, blindsided them.
According to a draft that was seen by Reuters news agency, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany responded by creating a counterproposal that would end fighting at the moment’s front lines, allowing for later discussions of territory, and include a US-style security guarantee for Ukraine.
The “coalition of the willing,” which refers to roughly 30 countries supporting Kyiv in general, will hold videoconference discussions about the negotiations on Tuesday, according to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
According to the German Foreign Office, Andrii Sybiha, the country’s foreign minister, and the chief diplomats from Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy, and Poland spoke with the German Foreign Office on Monday regarding further steps to put an end to the conflict.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council who was also present at the summit in Angola, reported that negotiations were “in a new compulsion.”
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, stated that the European Union would “engage with our partners from the coalition of the willing” for more discussion tomorrow.
“Big progress,”
Trump made an announcement on Monday that talks would resume on Sunday.
Is it actually possible that Russia and Ukraine’s peace talks are progressing significantly? The US president wrote on Truth Social, “Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good might be happening.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, is under double pressure from Russia’s continued advance on the front lines and a corruption scandal that has tainted his administration, until Thursday to agree on a plan to end the conflict. Zelenskyy was also accused of showing “zero gratitude” for peacekeeping efforts by him.
Zelenskyy stated on X on Monday that he anticipated a full report on the Geneva talks that evening.
More is required to achieve true peace, according to the statement. We all, of course, will keep working with partners, especially the United States, and seek out solutions that both strengthen and strengthen us, he said.
No one wants Americans and President Trump to be deterred from using the United States in this process, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who also stated on Monday that negotiations were “delicate.”
The Kremlin claimed to have been informed of the Geneva talks’ results but had been aware that “adjustments” had been made to the US proposal.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, reiterated his view that the original US strategy could “serve as a foundation for a final peace settlement” in a Monday phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan.
Erdogan stated during the interview that Turkiye was willing to support efforts to unite Russia and Ukraine, including facilitating direct talks between the two.
However, Yuri Ushakov, a presidential adviser to Russia, claimed that the European Union plan appeared “entirely unconstructive and unsuitable for us.”
Yulia Shapovalova, a journalist from Moscow, reported that Russia was unlikely to accept the revisions made in Europe.
Russia is prepared to fight if all of Russia’s circumstances and interests are not taken into account because, in her opinion, Russia has been fairly successful on the battlefield and wants to accomplish its objectives, she said.
Zelenskyy had stated in video to a meeting at the Swedish parliament that the country would still be a significant sticking point, accusing Putin of requesting “legal recognition for what he has stolen” in remarks made at the time.
Grimaldo is a reality.
In Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has decimated the east of the nation, forcing millions of people to flee their homes, destroying cities and towns, and injuring tens of thousands of people.
The nearly four-year conflict raged on for what seemed like forever, with Russian forces continuing to launch deadly and devastating assaults on civilian targets in the southeast of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region.
Authorities said four people were killed and two children were hurt when Russian drones overnight hit Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.
According to regional authorities, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad on Monday with drones, inflicting three injuries to the area’s Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to the military administration of the city in southern Ukraine, a 61-year-old woman was killed by Russian shelling that morning in Kherson.
Russian air defenses downed Ukrainian drones on their way to Moscow, causing three airports serving the capital to halt flights across the border.
