The Trump administration is advancing a controversial Ukraine peace plan that has spurred criticism and sidelined Europe via closed-door bilateral talks with Russia.
European and Ukrainian officials criticized the administration’s 28-point peace plan, labelling it as a “Kremlin’s wish list.” The plan would reintegrate Russia into the global economy and allow Moscow to maintain control over Crimea, annexed in 2014, plus other occupied territories seized since 2022.
The proposal would allow Kyiv to join the European Union (EU). Still, it would block the country from joining NATO and prohibit the military alliance from deploying troops on Ukrainian territory. Kyiv must agree to be a non-nuclear state and limit its armed forces to 600,000 soldiers.
“We have to put the focus on how to get concessions from the Russian side,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Wednesday. “We have one aggressor and one victim. The focus should be on what Russia, the aggressor, must do, not on what Ukraine, the victim, must sacrifice.”
Russia Cautiously Welcomes Plan
Russia has cautiously welcomed the administration’s draft proposal. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said Moscow endorsed US efforts but noted “no concessions on key issues.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This follows US talks with their Russian counterparts in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and prior meetings with Ukrainian and European delegations in Geneva.
Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday that the peace plan “will be discussed” during the Moscow meeting. Ushakov said the Kremlin viewed some aspects of the administration’s plan positively while “several of its points require serious analysis.”
The 28-point plan originated from a Russian document submitted to Trump representatives in October, developed with input from Jared Kushner, Witkoff, and …
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