Macron stated that Trump's peace plan needs improvement
Kyiv • UNN
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that US President Donald Trump's peace plan needs refinement to be acceptable to Ukraine and Europe. He emphasized that only Ukrainians can decide on territorial concessions.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's peace plan needs improvement to make it acceptable to Ukraine and Europe, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
The 28-point US peace proposal made last week caught many in the US government, Kyiv, and Europe by surprise and raised new fears that the Trump administration might be willing to push Ukraine into signing a deal heavily skewed towards Moscow.
"It is an initiative that moves in the right direction: towards peace. However, there are aspects of this plan that deserve discussion, negotiation, and improvement. (...) We want peace, but we do not want a peace that is effectively a capitulation."
He added that only Ukrainians can decide what territorial concessions they are willing to make.
"What has been put on the negotiating table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable to the Russians. Does that mean it has to be accepted by Ukrainians and Europeans? The answer is no," Macron added.
Ukraine's first line of defense in case of peace with Russia will be the restoration of its own army, and there can be no restrictions on this issue, Macron said. He also noted that frozen Russian assets are in Europe, and only Europe can decide what to do with them.
The US plan reportedly limits the size of the Ukrainian army and gives Washington some control over frozen Russian assets.
"Assurance Forces"
Hours before a video conference of the so-called "coalition of the willing" countries ready to provide assistance to post-war Ukraine, Macron also detailed what "assurance forces" "far from the front line" might look like after the end of hostilities.
"There are British, French, and Turkish soldiers who, on the day of the signing of peace, that is, not in the context of war, are there to conduct training and security operations, as we do in some countries on NATO's eastern flank," he said.
"About 20 countries have already declared their readiness for active action - in the air, on land or at sea," Macron noted.
Addition
On November 20, Axios published US President Donald Trump's 28-point peace plan between Ukraine and Russia, which includes territorial concessions, security guarantees, and economic components.
Against this backdrop, Ukraine and the US began negotiations in Geneva. The negotiations lasted on November 23 and 24. As a result, the initial 28-point peace plan of the US was reduced to 19 points.
The Ukrainian delegation, after a meeting with the US in Geneva, stated that there is "a common understanding of the key terms of the agreement," and a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the US "at the earliest possible date in November" is expected to reach an agreement with Trump.
This comes amid reports that Trump pressured Zelenskyy for a deal before the American Thanksgiving Day, November 27, although US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called this deadline flexible.
The President's Office stated that any discussions on territorial issues would likely take place at a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.