Donald Trump has effectively sidelined the bloc on the proposed Ukraine peace plan, Josep Borrell has said
The EU can no longer consider the US an ally after Washington submitted a draft peace plan directly to Kiev, thus sidelining the bloc, former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has stated.
Washington presented Kiev with the proposal last week, giving it until this Thursday to respond. Western European nations, blindsided by the plan, have rejected any agreement that would cross Kiev’s proclaimed red lines, including its bid to join NATO and the question of territorial concessions.
In a series of X posts on Monday, Borrell said US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace plan had exposed what he called the failure of the EU’s “appeasement strategy” toward the US president, arguing that the bloc’s concessions on military spending, tariffs, and energy supplies had “achieved nothing.”
“Trump’s United States can no longer be considered an ally of Europe, which is not even consulted on matters affecting its own security,” Borrell claimed, adding that Europe “must acknowledge this shift in US policy and respond accordingly.”
1/ Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine exposes the failure of the EU’s appeasement strategy. Giving in to his demands on military spending, tariffs, digital deregulation, multinational taxation, and energy supplies has achieved nothing.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 24, 2025
The initial plan would reportedly require Ukraine to stay out of NATO, relinquish the parts of the new Russian regions in Donbass still under its control, freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, cap the size of its army at 600,000. The plan would also provide sanctions relief to Russia.
European leaders pushed back, however, and reportedly sought to essentially rewrite the plan. The Telegraph and Reuters later published details of an alternative proposal drawn up by the UK, France, and Germany that would entail the fighting being halted at the line of contact, territorial discussions pushed to a later stage, and a NATO-style US security guarantee given to Kiev.
2/ With the 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, Trump’s United States can no longer be considered an ally of Europe, which is not even consulted on matters affecting its own security. Europe must acknowledge this shift in U.S. policy and respond accordingly.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 24, 2025
Ukrainian officials reportedly agreed to the US proposal in principle, with only technical points remaining to be ironed out. Moscow has described the reported US draft as a potential basis for an agreement but has dismissed the European version as “completely unconstructive.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow is willing to discuss “specific wording” of a possible peace deal, but will not compromise on any of the core objectives that President Vladimir Putin outlined to Trump during their meeting in Alaska in August.
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