Journal De Bruxelles - Ukraine, US head for talks on Trump's plan to end war

US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Moscow's hardline demands.

Trump's 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army, and pledge never to join NATO. He told reporters on Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting "one way or the other".

Ukraine's European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires "additional work" as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv's positions.

A US official told AFP that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff were scheduled to arrive in Geneva on Sunday for the talks, and that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had already arrived there after meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv.

"We will have an informal pre-meeting tonight for dinner" with Ukrainian delegates, the US official said on Saturday.

Zelensky's decree said the negotiations would include "representatives of the Russian Federation" but there was no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks.

- Russian 'representatives' expected -

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said "consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war," after issuing a decree naming Ukraine's delegation for the talks, led by his top aide Andriy Yermak.

"Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine's national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion", having annexed Crimea in 2014 and mounted a full-scale offensive in 2022, he said.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the senior officials would meet in Geneva "to take things further forward", stressing the importance of solid "security guarantees" for Ukraine under any settlement.

"The focus very much now is on Geneva tomorrow and whether we can make progress tomorrow morning," he told the media on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Starmer said his national security adviser Jonathan Powell would be in Geneva on Sunday. Italian diplomatic sources said their country was sending the prime minister's national security advisor Fabrizio Saggio.

Security officials from the EU, France and Germany will also attend, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20.

- West says plan needs more 'work' -

Western leaders at the G20 summit said Saturday that the US plan was "a basis which will require additional work".

"We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine's armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack," the leaders of key European countries as well as Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.

Macron said the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine's NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.

"We all want peace and we are agreed. We want the peace to be strong and lasting," he said, insisting a settlement must "take into account the security of all Europeans".

The European delegates in Geneva would aim "to put substance into the discussions and to reconcile all viewpoints", he said.

Zelensky said Friday in an address to the nation that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose "alternatives" to Trump's proposal.

"The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner," Zelensky said, referring to a possible break with Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could "lay the foundation" for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.

D.Verstraete--JdB