Kyiv [Ukraine], November 25: European allies of Ukraine have given a cautious welcome to efforts to refine a United States peace proposal initially criticised for appearing to be weighted in favour of Russia's maximalist demands.
The leaders Germany, Finland, Poland and the United Kingdom were among those agreeing on Monday that progress had been made in the previous day's talks between Washington and Kiev in Geneva that yielded what the US and Ukraine called a "refined peace framework".
Still, the European leaders stressed that work remained to be done. "It was possible to clear up some questions, but we also know that there won't be peace in Ukraine overnight," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding that the peace plan initially drafted by the US had been "modified in significant parts".
He welcomed the "interim result". "The next step must be that Russia must come to the table," Merz said from Angola, where he was attending a summit between African and European Union countries.
"This is a laborious process. It will move forward at most in smaller steps this week. I do not expect there to be a breakthrough this week." US President Donald Trump had blindsided Kiev and its European countries last week with a 28-point peace plan criticised by some as a Russian wish list that called for Ukraine to cede more territory, accept limits on its military and abandon its ambitions to join NATO.
Britain, France and Germany responded by drawing up a counterproposal that would cease fighting at the present front lines, leaving discussions of territory for later, and include a NATO-style US security guarantee for Ukraine, according to a draft seen by Reuters news agency.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Ukraine's allies in the "coalition of the willing" - a broad term for about 30 countries supporting Kiev - will hold talks about the negotiations on Tuesday by video.
The German Foreign Office said that the chief diplomats of Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy and Poland consulted Monday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on further steps towards ending the war.
Also attending the summit in Angola, European Council President Antonio Costa said there was "new momentum" in negotiations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would "engage further tomorrow with our partners from the coalition of the willing".
Source: Qatar Tribune
