G20 leaders say Trump's Ukraine peace deal has 'important elements' but needs 'additional work'
G20 leaders said on Nov. 22 that the initial draft of the U.S.-proposed peace plan requires "additional work" but contains "important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace."
The leaders said that they were concerned about the cap on Ukraine's Armed Forces included in the draft, which they said would "leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack." They reiterated their principle that borders shouldn't be changed by force remains the same.
"We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine," the leaders of the European Union, the U.K., France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway, and Finland said in a statement after meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit.
"The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace."
In the latest push to end the war in Ukraine at any cost, Trump is pressing Kyiv to accept a peace proposal built around sweeping Russian demands, such as surrendering the entire Donbas region and imposing limitations on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in return for a Western security guarantee.
Trump set Kyiv a Nov. 27 deadline to decide whether to accept the demands or lose the support of its most powerful ally.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine faces "an extremely difficult choice," which would lead to either losing its dignity or risking the loss of a key ally. Many in Ukraine, from politicians to soldiers risking their lives for their country's independence, view the proposal as "capitulation."
"We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work," the leaders said in the statement, adding that they would continue to work closely with the U.S. and Ukraine.
"We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable."
The statement added that "the implementation of elements" regarding the EU or NATO would require the entity's consent.
Facing a deadline, Ukraine is trying to continue talks in the hopes of making key changes to the draft.
A Ukrainian delegation of senior officials is set to meet representatives from the U.S. and other international allies, as well as a Russian delegation, to discuss the peace plan, according to a presidential decree published on Nov. 22.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on Nov. 22 that the meeting would take place in Switzerland "in the coming days."
