European allies draft peace plan to counter US proposal for Ukraine

Of state, Marco Rubio, admitted the White House plan had been conceived in Moscow only to later insist the US was its “author”.

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Having been blindsided last week by the US diplomatic initiative, Ukraine’s European allies published their own Kyiv-friendly version yesterday. It says negotiations over territory should take place after a ceasefire is agreed and should start from the existing frontline.

It adds both parties should agree how the truce is to be monitored “under US supervision”. Unlike the White House text, the European alternative does not call for Kyiv to withdraw from cities it controls in the eastern Donbas region. Nor does it rule out Ukraine joining Nato but it points out there is no consensus over its membership.

Further proposals include that Russia gives control of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which would split the power generated evenly between Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukraine’s army would be capped in peacetime at 800,000 soldiers, 200,000 more than in the US draft.

Additionally, frozen Russian assets would be used to reconstruct Ukraine rather than be partly given to US investors. If Russia respects a “sustainable peace”, sanctions imposed on Moscow from 2014 would be gradually eased and it would be brought back into the G8.