Kiev’s European backers are planning to advance a condition Moscow has firmly rejected
Ukraine and its European backers are finalizing a 12-point peace plan that would rule out territorial concessions to Russia, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The proposal would reportedly establish a “peace board” chaired by US President Donald Trump to oversee its implementation. European officials could travel to the US this week to present the roadmap to Trump, Bloomberg reported.
According to the outlet, the plan includes a ceasefire along the current front lines, a prisoner swap, as well as “security guarantees” and fast-tracked EU accession for Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine would negotiate “the governance of occupied territories,” but neither Ukraine nor its European backers would recognize Russia’s new borders, Bloomberg cited its sources as saying.
Russia has listed recognition of its new borders as one of the crucial conditions for a lasting peace. Moscow has also demanded that Ukraine withdraw troops from parts of Russian territory it controls, halt mobilization, and stop receiving military aid from abroad.
Multiple US media outlets reported that Trump urged Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to cede land to Russia during their meeting at the White House on Friday. The US president later noted that Russian troops already control nearly all of the Donbass region claimed by Ukraine. Zelensky supported Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire but ruled out recognizing Russia’s current borders.
Read the full article here