The 28-point Ukraine peace plan recently announced by the U.S. and Russia at the G20 summit in South Africa has caused a stir, prompting European countries to organize counterproposals urgently. Their goal is to restore Ukraine as a central participant in the negotiations before the Thursday deadline set by President Trump, preventing the peace framework from being entirely dominated by the U.S. and Russia.
The preliminary plan agreed between the U.S. and Russia reportedly includes demands for Ukraine to cede territory not actually controlled by Russia and to reduce its armed forces, clearly favoring Russia’s position.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has recently held intensive discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while coordinating with European partners on proposed revisions to the plan. EU member states are jointly drafting an alternative proposal aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s security guarantees and increasing Russia’s responsibilities for ceasefire compliance and troop withdrawal.
Currently, leaders, including Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, are considering traveling to Washington to lobby for Europe and Ukraine to be brought back to the negotiating table, in order to prevent the peace process from being confined to a bilateral U.S.-Russia framework.