The Trump administration’s 28-point proposal to end the war in Ukraine has been criticized as highly favorable to Russia.
Meanwhile, the European counterproposal, obtained by Reuters and confirmed to CNN to be accurate by European sources, is much more in line with Ukraine’s wishes.
Here are some key differences:
On territorial concessions: The US plan says that Luhansk, Donetsk and occupied Crimea will all be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States. It also says that Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be frozen along the line of contact.
The European draft differs starkly, according to the version obtained by Reuters. The text reads: “Ukraine commits not to recover its occupied sovereign territory through military means. Negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact.”
On NATO expansion: The draft US plan includes a provision that NATO will not expand further, and stipulates that Ukraine will agree to not join NATO.
The European draft removes those provisions, saying that “Ukraine joining NATO depends on consensus of NATO members,” according to the Reuters version. It notes that consensus does not currently exist, but the language leaves the door open.
On Ukraine’s military: The US plan notes that Ukraine’s Armed Forces “will be limited to 600,000 personnel.”
The European plan suggests that the Ukrainian military is “capped at 800,000 in peacetime.” On both drafts, Russia’s far larger army is not asked to make cuts.
On future elections: The US draft also calls for Ukraine to hold elections within 100 days of a sealed agreement – something that analysts say would be an impractically short window to allow for campaigning.
The European draft only says that elections should be held “as soon as possible” after an agreement is signed.
For context: It’s worth noting that there are several other versions of the European text that have been reported in American and British news outlets, which differ from the copy Reuters obtained. The US 28-point plan may also have evolved since its original version following top leaders’ discussions in Geneva.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi yesterday about a proposed plan for ending the war in Ukraine, a US official told CNN
