In the aftermath of these meetings, held on Sunday, Ukrainians and Americans stated that a future peace agreement should respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, after a first version of the proposal made public included most of the Russian demands, including territorial cessions to Moscow, reduction of the Ukrainian army and impediment of Kiev’s accession to NATO.
The 28-point plan was later scaled back and Trump appeared satisfied with the outcome of negotiations with Europeans and Ukrainians, declaring on his Truth Social social network that “something good can happen.”
Kiev now hopes to “organize Zelensky’s visit to the United States as soon as possible, in November, to finalize the remaining steps and reach an agreement with President Trump”, according to the secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, Rustem Umerov.
Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov commented this Tuesday that Moscow was waiting for the United States to present the new version of its proposal.
“We have become aware of a European plan that, at first glance, is not at all constructive and is unacceptable for us”, declared on Monday Yuri Ushakov, diplomatic advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The countries of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing”, which brings together Kiev’s main allies, held a video conference meeting this Tuesday.
At the end of the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron defended the need to guarantee the existence of “a strong Ukrainian army” and “without limitations”, further stating that there is no desire for a ceasefire on the Russian side.
The French head of state said that peace can be achieved by “deterring any new aggression”, stressing that this requires “a strong Ukrainian army”.
A source close to the negotiating process told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that the new version of the US plan is “significantly better” for Kiev.