Western leaders say Trump’s plan ‘leaves Ukraine vulnerable’ and needs work

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London: European leaders are seeking a deal with US President Donald Trump to amend his peace plan for Ukraine after warning that it would leave the war-torn country exposed by scaling back its army and forcing it to cede land to Russia.

The strong objections will shape talks in Switzerland to consider the draft plan after a backlash in Europe over terms that would end economic sanctions on Russia and give it control of large parts of eastern Ukraine.

The leaders of the ‘E3 Nations’, pictured with Zelensky in September, have led foreign efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.

Ten leaders from the European Union joined counterparts from the UK, Japan and Canada in warning against key parts of the peace proposal by declaring it needed “additional work” and could not work without Ukrainian approval.

While they welcomed the draft and said it included elements that would be essential for peace, they did not single out any positive features and instead named two key areas of concern.

“We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force,” said the leaders from the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Japan and the UK.

“We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.”

Trump’s draft plan asks Ukraine to give up land in the Donbas region along its border with Russia, even though some of this territory is held by Ukrainian forces.

It also requires the Ukrainian defence forces to be capped at 600,000 – down from an estimated 900,000 – and that it give up the use of long-range missiles and other weapons that could reach Russian targets.

In return for peace, Russia would be given the entire Donbas region and Crimea, freed from Western sanctions and reintroduced into the G7, making it the G8 once again and restoring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the club of major economies.

Underpinning the deal is a yet-to-be-defined security guarantee for Ukraine from the US and European allies.

National security advisers from the E3 nations – France, Britain and Germany – are due to meet officials from the European Union, the US and Ukraine in Geneva on Sunday, local time (late on Sunday, AEDT) to discuss the details of the Trump proposal.

The Trump administration produced the draft after the president’s peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks in Florida three weeks ago with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and is close to Putin.

A senior Russian diplomat left open the prospect of a meeting between Trump and Putin to finalise the plan, according to Reuters.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

While European leaders have warned against parts of the Trump plan, they have not ruled out accepting the broad thrust of the 28 points as the basis for a peace settlement.

In a sign of the pressure on Ukraine to accept the terms, Reuters reported that the US had threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine if it rejected the proposal.

Zelensky delivered a video message to the nation on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the peace plan while holding talks with European and other leaders by phone to push back against terms that favour Russia.

“Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and exactly what must be done to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion, another strike against Ukraine – just as it has repeatedly committed crimes against our people and against other nations in the past,” Zelensky said on Saturday in Ukraine (early on Sunday, AEDT).

Earlier, in a broadcast to the Ukrainian people, Zelensky said the peace plan required a difficult choice, but he did not rule out the possibility of an agreement.

“Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice,” he said in the broadcast.

“Either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner.