US Peace Plan for Ukraine Sparks Global Reactions

The details of the "Proposed Peace Plan" were made known on Thursday, November 20, through the initial report stating, "The U.S. and Russia have agreed on a peace plan." The United States Department of State has not confirmed or denied this information, but it has been widely reported in the media.

According to the report, the proposed plan would provide Russia with complete control of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the territory presently occupied by Russia within the territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The proposed plan would recognise Crimea as part of Russia under international law.

The proposed plan called for the Ukrainian military to be reduced to 600,000 troops and to preclude any future expansion of NATO, which included Ukrainian participation, the two conditions sought by Russia prior to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In addition, it was stated that there would also be the lifting of the Western economic sanctions imposed on Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that he was willing to be "constructive, honest and rapid" in his engagement with President Trump, to develop a proposed peace plan. The German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, suggested that the proposed plan was "to prepare the ground for further negotiations" and not to be considered as a final document. With increased pressure coming from Ukraine’s western partners, the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, stated that any peace agreement must include both Ukraine and Europe.

Ukraine’s chief security advisor, Rustem Umerov, said the government of Ukraine was reviewing every peace agreement proposal that had been received from its western partners. France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated, “Peace can’t be a capitulation”.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán supported the US proposal for peace and criticised the EU’s position towards Ukraine. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the decisions regarding Poland must be made by the Polish people regarding a clause of the US peace plan, which included that European fighter jets should be based in Poland.

According to reports, Trump told Zelenskyy that he had until Thursday, November 27, to agree to the plan proposed by the US. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine faced a tough choice of “losing either dignity or losing an important partner”.

At the G20, on Saturday, November 22, the leaders of the EU and eleven countries supporting Ukraine released a statement supporting the engagement of the US but indicated that more effort would need to happen to make the plan work. Trump later commented on the proposal not being finalised and that it would still be a work in progress.

During the G20, it was agreed that the delegations from the EU, Ukraine and several other nations would meet with US officials in Switzerland and that the US would plan additional meetings with Russia.

On Sunday, November 23, representatives from Ukraine, Europe and the US met in Geneva. The US and Ukraine announced that they had prepared an updated peace framework that reinforced Ukraine’s full sovereignty. Zelenskyy said diplomacy had been refreshed, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that talks had been very productive. France, Germany, and the UK put forth a proposal that rejected any territorial compromise and stated that any future NATO membership for Ukraine would be dependent on the consensus of the alliance member states.

By Monday, November 24, the mediation team announced that the framework for the negotiations for an updated peace plan was completed, but no details were provided. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s defence minister, welcomed the comments made by Rubio but insisted that Poland must continue to increase its defence budget. Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s President, expressed optimism that Trump was the only actor capable of compelling Russia to enter into a peace agreement, stating, “Russia does not keep its promises”.

Afterwards, Trump expressed positivity about a possible resolution on his social media account, while discussing potential future progress in negotiations, expressing that there are still uncertainties, but some positive results could be seen.