Ukraine, Europe scramble to respond to US plan to end war

Zelensky to propose alternatives to Trump's proposal even as Russia's Putin welcomes it

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Ukraine and its European allies scrambled on Nov 22 to come up with counterproposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to end the war that accepts some of Russia's hardline demands.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met on Nov 20 on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency said.

The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, it added.

Mr Starmer had earlier said the aim was to “look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the allies should make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, saying it “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground”.