The European Union will not change its mind within the framework of peace negotiations on it Ukrainebut this Monday Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin warned that the country’s integrity must be respected. Therefore, the peace plan proposed by the United States constitutes a good basis for the Europeans, nothing more. This is what the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, insisted on after a quick summit with the leaders of the 27 countries in Angola, on the sidelines of the meeting between the European Union and the African Union.
Trump backed down in the last hours and denied that this plan was the “last offer” to Ukraine, while Europe rejects two main points in it: handing over territories in the east to Russia and the significant reduction of Kiev’s army. On the other hand, progress has been made in recent meetings in Geneva. “The two parties agreed that the consultations were very productiveQ. US and Ukrainian diplomats said after the talks that the talks showed significant progress toward unifying positions and identifying clear next steps.
Costa and von der Leyen celebrated the progress, but insisted there was a long way to go and suggested the EU must be at the table. “Issues that directly concern the European Union, e.g Sanctions, aid or pending issues require the full participation and decision of the EU“What matters now is that we move forward as partners, united by our common goal: to stop this war, to stop killing people, to stop this aggression against Ukraine, and to ensure a just and sustainable peace for the people of Ukraine,” the Portuguese leader commented in a brief, no-questions-asked appearance with the Chairman of the Executive Group. The European Union is committed to continuing to provide all the support it needs President Zelensky: Diplomatic support, military support and economic support.”
The European Union realizes that the basis is already there, but it is not budging on what it has already said in recent days. “These are the European principles going forward: Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty must be respected“Von der Leyen, who has stressed since the weekend that the basic elements of the plan do not serve a European point of view, warned.
He added: “Only Ukraine, as a sovereign state, can make decisions regarding its armed forces. Choosing your destiny is in your hands. He said about the role that the European Union must play in Ukraine in the future, as a candidate country to join it, “I also want to emphasize the centrality of Europe in the country’s future.” However, many voices in Brussels point to the fact that the goal may be to ultimately make the peace plan beyond Russia’s reach, because it would not have to include the territorial transfer being talked about.
Meanwhile, Moscow says it is waiting for news, and confirms that it has not received “any plan” in the past few hours. “Some modifications have been made to the script that we saw before. We will wait. It appears that the dialogue is continuing and some contacts are still ongoing“, assessed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who says his team needs “more information” than it has at the moment. At the same time, he denied that there was an early meeting between Trump and Putin on the table to address this road map.