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European leaders and the United Nations guardedly rejected a United States-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine on Friday, insisting that Kyiv and its allies must play a central role in any settlement as details emerged of a 28-point plan that would require major Ukrainian concessions to Russia.
The proposal, supported by President Donald Trump, calls for Ukraine to cede control of Crimea and much of the eastern Donbas region, limit its armed forces to 600,000 personnel, and enshrine in its constitution that it will never join NATO. In exchange, the plan offers security guarantees and a massive reconstruction package funded partly by frozen Russian assets, with the US receiving half the profits from Ukraine's rebuilding.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy largely rejected the proposals in an address Thursday, saying his country would not betray its sovereignty. However, he acknowledged Ukraine faced a difficult choice between "the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner," adding that he would propose alternatives. The plan was developed through discussions between US and Russian officials without Ukrainian or European input.
France's President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded with a coordinated message emphasizing that any peace settlement must fully involve Kyiv. In a phone call with Zelenskyy, the three leaders said all decisions affecting European and NATO interests require joint support and consensus from European partners and alliance members.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said any workable plan needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board, noting that the war has one aggressor and one victim. "So we haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side," she said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said any peace solution should abide by General Assembly resolutions clearly indicating that Ukraine's territorial integrity must be respected.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke with Merz, after which her office said they reaffirmed the goal of achieving a just and lasting peace in Europe's interest, adding that some elements of the plan were deemed worthy of further exploration. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Ukrainians want peace that respects sovereignty and cannot be questioned by future aggression, but that "peace cannot be a capitulation."
The Kremlin insisted it had not officially seen the plan, but spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Zelenskyy that "it is better to negotiate and do it now," adding that "the space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost during offensive actions by the Russian army." Peskov later said consultations are not currently underway between the US and Russia, though contacts exist.
The proposal would recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as Russian territory, including by the US. The regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia would be frozen along current battle lines, meaning de facto recognition of Russian control over the roughly 75 percent of those oblasts Moscow now holds. Russia would relinquish other territories it controls outside these five regions.
Ukrainian forces would withdraw from the portion of Donetsk oblast they currently control, creating a demilitarized buffer zone internationally recognized as Russian territory. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine still controls 14.5 percent of the Donbas, including areas around the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The plan limits Ukraine's armed forces to 600,000 personnel and requires the country to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO. In return, NATO would agree not to expand further and not to station troops in Ukraine. European fighter jets would be stationed in Poland instead.
The security guarantee from the US includes several caveats: if Ukraine invades Russia, it loses the guarantee; if Russia invades Ukraine, all global sanctions would be reinstated and recognition of new territory revoked; if Ukraine launches a missile at Moscow or Saint Petersburg without cause, the guarantee becomes invalid. The US would receive unspecified compensation for providing this guarantee.
The plan proposes using $100 billion in frozen Russian assets for US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine, with Europe adding another $100 billion. The US would receive 50 percent of profits from this venture, though the proposal does not specify how these profits would be generated.
Remaining frozen Russian funds would be invested in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle for joint projects aimed at strengthening relations and creating incentives against future conflict. The plan also calls for the US to enter into a long-term economic cooperation agreement with Russia covering energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and rare earth metal extraction in the Arctic.
Russia would be reintegrated into the global economy through staged lifting of sanctions and would be invited to rejoin the G8, the group of major industrialized nations from which it was ejected following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would be launched under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision, with electricity distributed equally between Russia and Ukraine. The plan also establishes a humanitarian committee to exchange all remaining prisoners and bodies, return civilian detainees and hostages including children, and implement a family reunification program.
Keir Giles, a Eurasia expert at the London political think tank Chatham House, said to Al Jazeera that the terms are "unenforceable, nonsensical and vague" and cannot be implemented without months of wrangling. He said agreeing to the terms in their current form would be catastrophic for Ukraine because of the heavy concessions Kyiv is being asked to make.
One controversial provision grants full amnesty to all parties involved in the conflict for their actions during the war. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 over the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. The US cannot unilaterally grant amnesty to an individual convicted of war crimes by an international organization.
The plan states it would be legally binding, with implementation monitored and guaranteed by a Peace Council headed by President Trump, with sanctions imposed for violations. Ukraine would hold elections within 100 days of the agreement.
Both Russia and Ukraine would undertake to implement educational programs promoting understanding and tolerance of different cultures and eliminating racism and prejudice. Ukraine would adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and protection of linguistic minorities, while both countries would abolish discriminatory measures and guarantee rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education. The plan requires both nations to reject and prohibit all Nazi ideology and activities.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, endorsed the plan Friday, saying the coming weeks will be key to stopping the war. "This peace plan includes propositions on which the Russians and the Americans have already held preliminary discussions," Orban said, adding that the next two or three weeks will be crucial.
European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU has not yet been officially informed about the US plan, so it makes no sense to comment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would discuss the situation with European leaders and others at the G20 summit starting Saturday.
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