Washington, November 24. . The US and Ukrainian authorities intend to maintain contact with their European partners as they agree on a plan to resolve the Ukraine crisis. This is stated in the joint statement of the two countries announced by the White House on November 23 after consultations in Geneva.
“Ukraine and the United States have agreed to continue working actively on joint proposals in the coming days. They will also maintain close contact with European partners as the process progresses,” the document said.
The statement emphasized that the “final decision” on the draft document will be made by US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
An earlier statement from the White House said that during the negotiations in Geneva, the Ukrainian delegation confirmed that the current draft plan to resolve the crisis in Ukraine meets the country's national interests and provides reliable and workable mechanisms to ensure the country's security.
Contact in Geneva
On November 23, meetings of the Ukrainian delegation with European partners and the American delegation concluded in Switzerland, where steps to end the conflict were discussed. Previously, Reuters quoted an anonymous US official as saying that representatives of Washington and Kiev, in negotiations in Geneva, intended to agree on the final details of the draft US plan to resolve the conflict.
On November 22, leaders of EU countries announced their disagreement with some points of this draft and the need to complete it. Bild newspaper quoted its own source as saying that the German government is extremely concerned about the US initiative and has begun to take diplomatic countermeasures.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, summarizing the results of Sunday's consultations in Geneva, said that the role of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance in resolving the conflict in Ukraine remained to be discussed. “It is a living document” that changes every day, Rubio said of the peace plan proposed by the United States. “For example, there are questions regarding the participation or role of the EU and NATO.”
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: “We singled them out because we just met with national security advisers from European countries. We need to discuss these issues with them because they affect them.” At the same time, he clarified that Washington had agreed to “choose its own path” on points directly related to NATO and the European Union.
US plan
According to the American plan, the content of which has become known to the Western media, the United States and other countries will have to recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, Donbass and other territories that Ukraine will have to give up. In return, Kiev will receive security guarantees from the US and Europe. In the areas where Ukrainian troops will withdraw, it is expected to create a demilitarized zone.
According to the Axios news portal, citing a US official, communication lines between the conflicting parties in the Kherson and Zaporozhye areas will be frozen, and Russia will have to return some areas to Ukraine. The Ukrainian army will be significantly reduced and lose its long-range weapons. The deployment of foreign troops on the country's territory will be banned and Russian will have to become the national language. According to a Bloomberg report, the new US plan also stipulates the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
