European officials were reported to have presented their own Ukraine peace proposals to the US yesterday as President Donald Trump prepared for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war.
Trump announced on Friday that he would meet Putin in Alaska on August 15, saying the parties, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were close to a deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Details of the potential deal have yet to be announced, but Trump said it would involve ‘some swapping of territories to the betterment of both’. It could require Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory – an outcome Kyiv and its European allies say would only encourage Russian aggression.
US Vice President JD Vance met Ukrainian and European allies in Britain yesterday to discuss Trump’s push for peace.
The Wall Street Journal said European officials had presented a counter-proposal, including demands that a cease-fire must take place before any other steps are taken and that any territory exchange must be reciprocal, with firm security guarantees.
“You can’t start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting,” it quoted one European negotiator as saying. European officials contacted by Reuters were unable to confirm the report.
Zelenskiy said the meeting was constructive. “All our arguments were heard,” he said in his evening address to Ukrainians.
“The path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine, this is key principle,” he said.
He had earlier rejected any territorial concessions, saying “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier”.
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