European and other Western leaders said on Saturday a U.S. peace plan was a basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but needed “additional work,” part of Western efforts to eke out a better deal for Kyiv before a Thursday deadline.
Meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit, European and other Western leaders scrambled to come up with a coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine to accept his 28-point peace plan with Russia by Thursday.
The U.S. plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was met with measured criticism in many European capitals, with leaders trying to balance praise for Trump for trying to end the fighting, but also recognizing that for Kyiv, some of the terms in his proposal are unpalatable.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” said the leaders of the European Union (EU), Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work,” they said in a statement.
