British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are attending the G20 summit in South Africa. Photo credit: Michael Kappeler, Pool/dts Nachrichtenagentur / imago stock&people / Profimedia
Europeans have presented a modified version of the US-drafted peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which rejects proposals for territorial concessions and limits on Kiev's armed forces, according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The document, prepared for talks in Geneva on this peace plan, proposes that Ukraine's military forces be limited to 800,000 “peacetime” troops, instead of the overall maximum limit of 600,000 proposed by the US plan.
It also states that “negotiations on territorial exchanges will begin from the line of contact”, rather than pre-determining that certain areas should be recognized as “de facto Russian”, as the US plan suggests.
The counter-proposal was drafted by the so-called E3 European powers – Britain, France and Germany, as a source familiar with the document told Reuters.
The document is based on the US's 28-point plan, but goes through each one with suggestions for eliminations or changes.
For example, the document rejects the United States' proposal to use frozen Russian assets in the West, mainly in the European Union.
“Ukraine will be fully reconstructed and financially compensated, including through Russian sovereign assets, which will remain frozen until Russia compensates for the damage caused to Ukraine,” the Europeans' document says.
It also proposes that Ukraine receive a security guarantee from the United States similar to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
The news is being updated.
