European leaders are desperately trying to buy Ukraine more time to develop a new ceasefire framework with Russia after the administration of US President Donald Trump set a Thanksgiving deadline of November 27, and senior US officials insist that this is turning into an ultimatum, while the Europeans' approach is cautious: how to essentially rewrite most of the plan, but present it as constructive updates, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of France, Germany, and other European countries are rushing to respond to US demands for Ukraine's agreement to a 28-point plan circulated this week, next Thursday. According to informed sources, their approach is cautious: how to essentially rewrite most of the document, but present it as constructive updates," the publication states.
"In a sign of growing panic," as the publication writes, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rushed to call US President Donald Trump to arrange further discussions in the coming days at the level of national security advisers. This would usually mean the involvement of Marco Rubio, who holds this position and is also the US Secretary of State, but, according to people familiar with the matter, this role could go to US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
Merz and Trump discussed US peace plan for Ukraine21.11.25, 21:27 • [views_11201]
Driscoll earlier this week told European ambassadors that a deal needed to be reached as soon as possible, said people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. He, it is indicated, told the envoys that Ukraine is in a difficult position, and now is the time for peace, sources said. He added that President Trump wants a peace deal now.
As the publication notes, "Driscoll told them directly that he had not come to negotiate details."
However, Trump, who commented on the plan, as the publication writes, also indicated some flexibility regarding the timing, stating in an interview with Fox News Radio on Friday morning that although he considers November 27 an appropriate time for a decision, "if all goes well, the timing tends to extend."
Attention will now shift to the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday, where European leaders will outline the next steps, a person familiar with the matter said earlier.
"Europe has worked very hard to develop this firm and unified position on this issue. And I think this plan potentially throws all those efforts out the window and creates a scenario where Europeans will really have to go back to square one," said Rachel Rizzo, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Europe Center.
At the same time, the publication indicates that "when the initial shock of the plan wore off on Friday, some officials argued that it was a repeat of the past, when Trump made a demand, Zelenskyy and Europe resisted, and the US president backed down."
One European official said it was not the first time Zelenskyy had been in a difficult position with Trump. The official argued that new US sanctions are coming into effect, and although Ukraine is in a difficult situation, it continues to strike targets deep in Russia and inflict heavy losses on Russian forces.
Others are more pessimistic and believe that the very foundations of the transatlantic alliance and security order are at stake, the publication writes.