The Trump administration’s 28-point proposal to finish the conflict in Ukraine has been criticized as extremely favorable to Russia.
Meanwhile, the European counterproposal, obtained by Reuters and confirmed to NCS to be correct by European sources, is way more in line with Ukraine’s needs.
Here are some key variations:
On territorial concessions: The US plan says that Luhansk, Donetsk and occupied Crimea will all be acknowledged as de facto Russian, together with by the United States. It additionally says that Kherson and Zaporizhzhia might be frozen alongside the road of contact.
The European draft differs starkly, in response to the model obtained by Reuters. The textual content 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 growth: The draft US plan features a provision that NATO is not going to broaden additional, and stipulates that Ukraine will comply with not be a part of NATO.
The European draft removes these provisions, saying that “Ukraine joining NATO depends on consensus of NATO members,” in response to the Reuters model. It notes that consensus doesn’t presently exist, however the language leaves the door open.
On Ukraine’s army: The US plan notes that Ukraine’s Armed Forces “will be limited to 600,000 personnel.”
The European plan means that the Ukrainian army is “capped at 800,000 in peacetime.” On each drafts, Russia’s far bigger military will not be requested to make cuts.
On future elections: The US draft additionally requires Ukraine to carry elections inside 100 days of a sealed settlement – one thing that analysts say can be an impractically quick window to permit for campaigning.
The European draft solely says that elections must be held “as soon as possible” after an settlement is signed.
For context: It’s price noting that there are a number of different variations of the European textual content which have been reported in American and British information shops, which differ from the copy Reuters obtained. The US 28-point plan can also have advanced since its unique model following high leaders’ discussions in Geneva.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi yesterday a few proposed plan for ending the conflict in Ukraine, a US official informed NCS