The Trump administration’s 28-point proposal to end the war in Ukraine has been criticized as highly advantageous to Russia.
Meanwhile, Europe’s counter-proposal, seen by Reuters and confirmed to CNN as accurate by European sources, is much more in line with Ukraine’s wishes.
The main differences are:
Regarding territorial concessions: According to the US plan, Luhansk, Donetsk and occupied Crimea would all be recognized as de facto Russia, including by the US. It also said that Kherson and Zaporizhia would be frozen along the contact line.
The European draft is very different, according to a version seen by Reuters. “Ukraine undertakes not to recover the occupied sovereign territory by military means. Negotiations for the exchange of territory will begin at the line of contact,” the text reads.
Regarding NATO expansion: The US draft plan includes a clause stating that NATO will not expand further and stipulates that Ukraine agrees not to join NATO.
According to Reuters, the European draft removes these provisions and states that “Ukraine’s membership in NATO depends on the consensus of NATO member states.” It notes that while there is currently no consensus, the language leaves the door open.
About the Ukrainian military: The U.S. plan calls for the strength of the Ukrainian military to be “limited to 600,000 soldiers.”
According to the European plan, the strength of the Ukrainian army will be “limited to 800,000 soldiers in peacetime.” In neither draft, Russia’s much larger military is not asked to be reduced.
On future elections: The US draft also calls for Ukraine to hold elections within 100 days of signing the deal, which analysts say is an unrealistically short period for campaigning.
The European draft only states that elections should be held “as soon as possible” after the agreement is signed.
For context: It’s worth noting that there are several other versions of the European text reported in the American and British press that differ from the copy obtained by Reuters. The U.S. 28-point plan may also have evolved from its initial version following discussions among leaders in Geneva.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi yesterday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official told CNN.
