(AFP) – Ukraine has sent Washington an updated plan for ending Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials told AFP Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump laid into European leaders in the latest sign of a growing transatlantic rift. A first US plan that involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as caving in to too many of Russia’s hardline demands, and has since been revised.
A Ukrainian official briefed on the latest version told AFP that it “takes into account Ukraine’s vision — it is a further proposal for adequate solutions to problematic issues.” “We are not disclosing the details pending the reaction of the American side,” the official added. But Trump, who has been pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a US plan, swiftly expressed impatience with both Kyiv and its European allies in France, Britain, and Germany.
His comments come amid a growing divide with Europe after he described it as “decaying” and “weak” on immigration and Ukraine, days after a new US national security strategy said the continent risked “civilisational erasure.” “We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words,” Trump told reporters when asked about the phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
On Monday, Ukraine’s European allies put on a show of support for Zelensky as they expressed scepticism about parts of the latest US proposal to end the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Trump added that the Europeans wanted to hold fresh talks this weekend but warned that they risked “wasting time.” “I think we had some little disputes about people, and we’re going to see how it turns out. And we said, before we go to a meeting, we want to know some things,” Trump added. “They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with. We don’t want to be wasting time.”
– ‘Let people fight it out’ –
Talks between US officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin last week also failed to reach a breakthrough. The threats of a full Trump pull-out have come at a delicate time for Zelensky, whose army is on the back foot in the war-torn eastern Donbas region while a corruption scandal engulfs several of his close associates.
The Ukrainian leader — who Trump has accused of not reading the plan — said on Tuesday that the plan had been broken down into three documents: a framework 20-point agreement, and two separate papers: one on security guarantees and another on Ukraine’s post-war recovery. Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky said he had held an online meeting with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to discuss Ukraine’s recovery.
“This could be considered the first meeting of the group that will work on a document concerning reconstruction and economic recovery of Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media. “We have also updated our reflections on the 20 points of the framework document for ending the war. It is overall security that will determine economic security and underpin a safe business environment,” he added.
But the US leader gave the latest in a series of hints that he may walk away from a conflict he blames on his predecessor Joe Biden, and which he once said he could end within 24 hours of returning to office in January. “Sometimes you have to let people fight it out and sometimes you don’t,” Trump said on Wednesday. “But the problem with letting people fight it out is that you’re losing thousands of people a week. It’s ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous.”
© 2024 AFP
