The 28-point peace plan proposed by the U.S. for Ukraine is a basis that “requires additional work,” Western leaders gathered at the G20 summit in South Africa said.
Group of Seven nations and European leaders met on the sidelines of the summit in Johannesburg to discuss the U.S. peace plan for the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The Trump administration boycotted the summit.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” the leaders of the European Union, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway said in a joint statement. “We believe, therefore, that the draft is a basis which will require additional work.”
The 28-point plan, sent to Kyiv and Moscow this week, includes a framework that would require Ukraine to give up its eastern Donbas region and Crimea, and swear off NATO membership, according to a draft shared publicly by a Ukrainian opposition politician and confirmed by a White House official.
It contains many of Moscow’s long-standing demands, while offering limited security guarantees to Kyiv.
The plan sparked alarm in Kyiv and other European capitals, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Friday that his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters at the summit that “wars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,” and insisted Kyiv needed robust guarantees.
President Trump said he wants an answer from Zelenskyy on the plan by Thursday, which is Thanksgiving in the U.S., but says an extension is possible to finalize terms.
Ukrainian envoys will meet a U.S. delegation in Switzerland to discuss the proposal, a top official said Saturday, but European leaders warned against rushing a peace deal.
In their statement on Saturday, Western leaders said they 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 statement said.
Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday that “we have a plan” to address the war, but Zelenskyy still needs to approve it. The president said of the Ukrainian leader: “At some point, he’s going to have to accept something.”
“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then they should just keep fighting, I guess,” Mr. Trump said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Friday that Russia had received the text of the 28-point plan “through existing channels of communication with the U.S. administration.”
“I believe it could too form the basis for a final peace settlement,” he said. “But this text is not being discussed with us in any substantive way. And I can assume why. I believe the reason is the same: the U.S. administration has so far been unable to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is against it.”
Zelenskyy struck a defiant note on Saturday as the country commemorated the “great famine” that Soviet leader Josef Stalin imposed on Ukraine in the early 1930s, which led to millions of deaths.
“We all know how and why millions of our people died, starved to death, and millions were never born. And we are once again defending ourselves against Russia, which has not changed and is once again bringing death,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram marking Holodomor Memorial Day.
“We defended, defend, and will always defend Ukraine. Because only here is our home. And in our home, Russia will definitely not be the master,” Zelenskyy added.
A Ukrainian delegation will soon head to Switzerland to discuss the proposal with U.S. representatives, according to Rustem Umerov, a former defense minister who led Ukrainian negotiators in past failed talks with Russia.
“These days in Switzerland, we are starting consultations between high-ranking officials of Ukraine and the USA regarding possible parameters of a future peace agreement. Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests,” Umerov wrote Saturday on Telegram.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll is in Geneva to work on the next steps toward achieving peace in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official familiar with the plans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to join him, per multiple U.S. officials.
Merz said that envoys from Germany, France, the U.K. and the EU will join Ukrainian negotiators in Geneva on Sunday.
Nine officials are to take part in the talks, including Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Umerov, according to a statement posted on the Ukrainian presidency’s website, which also stated that the negotiators are empowered to deal directly with Russia.