Kyiv’s allies insist more work is needed on US-Russian peace plan

Ukraine’s western allies have called for “additional work” on a US-Russia peace plan and for the EU and Nato to be given a say over its contents as they seek to delay the terms being forced on Kyiv.

The 14 leaders, from countries that include European states plus Japan, Australia and Canada, said on Saturday that the “initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace”, in a joint statement agreed at an emergency meeting in Johannesburg.

“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work,” the leaders said. “We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to Nato would need the consent of EU and Nato members respectively.”

The meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit was called in response to a demand from Donald Trump’s administration that Ukraine agree to the 28-point proposal by next Thursday. US officials warned that there was little room to negotiate a plan described by European officials as a “capitulation” to Moscow.

Separately, Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, said that he was “beginning consultations between senior officials of Ukraine and the United States regarding possible parameters of a future peace agreement” in Switzerland.

The meeting, he said on Telegram, marks “another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily intended to co-ordinate our vision of the next steps”.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that national security advisers from across European capitals were travelling to Geneva “to work further on the draft” alongside US and Ukrainian officials on Sunday.

Starmer had “no plans to visit Washington” but spoke with Trump on Saturday evening. The two leaders agreed their teams would work together on the peace plan in Geneva on Sunday, according to people briefed on the discussion.

European officials will demand that no limits are placed on Ukraine’s military capability and that the US offers clear security guarantees as part of the peace agreement, according to people briefed on the plan.

Diplomats said that the peace plan — drawn up with Russian input and without consultation with Nato allies — and Trump’s ultimatum have created the most pivotal moment in the almost four-year war, and pose a huge test for Kyiv’s western allies.

Attempts to forge a joint stance in response have been spearheaded by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Starmer. The frantic diplomatic negotiations have been complicated by a desire not to directly criticise Trump, officials said.

“We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine,” the leaders said. “We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable.”

“We 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.”

In addition to Merz, Macron and Starmer, the statement was signed by the leaders of Italy, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Australia and Canada, and the presidents of the EU Council and European Commission.

Speaking after the meeting, Merz told reporters: “Wars cannot be ended by great powers over the heads of the affected countries,” adding that any solution must involve the consent of Ukraine and Europe.

“If Ukraine were to lose this war and then, most probably, collapse, that would also have consequences for the whole of European politics,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Macron said that Ukraine’s allies would meet on Tuesday to discuss the outcome of the Geneva talks.

The US plan “is good in that it proposes peace and recognises important elements on issues of sovereignty, security guarantees”, he said. “But it’s a basis for work that needs to be revisited . . . because [it] was not negotiated with the Europeans, and it stipulates many things for the Europeans. The frozen [Russian] assets are held by Europeans. The integration of Ukraine into Europe is in the hands of the Europeans.”

The US has warned Kyiv that if it does not agree to the plan, which demands that Ukraine relinquish territory, pledge never to join Nato and shrink its armed forces, it risks losing critical military and intelligence support.

Trump was asked by reporters on Saturday whether that was his final offer to Ukraine. He replied: “No, not my final offer . . . I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago . . . we are trying to get it ended, one way or the other, we have to get it ended.”

Asked what would happen if Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not accept the offer, the US President replied: “Then he can continue to fight his little heart out.”

Zelenskyy said the choice was between “either loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner”, and that his country faced “one of the most difficult moments in our history”.

The official negotiating team formed by Zelenskyy and dispatched to Geneva overnight is headed by his powerful and controversial chief of staff Andriy Yermak, according to a presidential decree seen by the FT.

Separately on Saturday, the 19 nations attending the opening of the G20 summit in Johannesburg signed a joint statement saying that in the face of a “challenging political and socio-economic environment”, they endorsed a “belief in multilateral co-operation”.

Washington had warned countries not to sign a declaration after Trump announced that the US would boycott the gathering.

Additional reporting by Laura Pitel in Berlin, Sarah White in Paris, Monica Mark in Johannesburg and Lauren Fedor in Washington