Trump’s Ukraine peace plan ignites diplomatic flurry but major hurdles lie ahead

By JILL LAWLESS and SAM McNEIL Associated Press LONDON AP The Russia-Ukraine war has seen almost four years of failed peace plans blueprints and high-level summits A new U S push to end the fighting has set off the latest flurry of diplomacy with American European Russian and Ukrainian bureaucrats all trying to shape the outcome of Europe s deadliest conflict since World War II Tilted heavily toward Russia s aims the U S -backed proposal presented to Ukraine last week set off alarm bells in Kyiv and other European capitals Ukraine and its allies offered a set of counterproposals that revamped the plan s points Ukrainian and European leaders expressed optimism about the talks momentum but awaited responses from Washington and Moscow that are crucial I think we re getting very close to a deal U S President Donald Trump reported Tuesday He stated the proposals had been fine-tuned and communicated he was sending his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week A contentious peace plan Based on talks between Washington and Moscow the -point plan presented to Ukraine calls on it to cede its entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia which invaded its smaller neighbor in February The plan would put a -person limit on Ukraine s military and bar Ukraine or any other new member from NATO It also would rule out NATO troops in Ukraine and does not commit the U S or European nations to Ukraine s defense if Russia attacks again Russia would commit to no more attacks on Ukraine facing sanctions if it violates that pledge Related Articles Massachusetts Thanksgiving meal costs creating anxious shoppers Business coalition Howie Carr Thankful for Trump and liberation from Democrats Federal judge says immigration officers in Colorado can only arrest those at liability of fleeing Lawsuit challenges arrests of people showing up to ICE check-ins in San Diego Judge sets K bond for Florida congresswoman accused of stealing M in COVID- funds Ukraine and its European allies declared the plan rewards Russian aggression and scrambled to offer counterproposals aimed at shifting the balance toward Ukraine such as lifting the cap on Ukraine s military power leaving open the question of future NATO membership and postponing discussions of territorial concessions until after a ceasefire U S and Ukrainian administrators met Sunday in Geneva with both sides calling the talks constructive and promising to produce a revised peace plan U S Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday but Putin s foreign program advisor Yuri Ushakov revealed the new peace plan was not discussed in detail He noted that while Moscow had seen a copy of the proposals it had yet to receive the document through official channels The fragility of the process was underscored by a leaked transcript of a call in which Witkoff appeared to coach Ushakov on how to win Trump s endorsement for a peace plan Moscow denied leaking the conversation details of which were first published by Bloomberg News The White House did not dispute the veracity of the transcript and Trump described Witkoff s shared approach to the Russians in the call as standard negotiating procedure Ukrainian representatives disclosed they hoped President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would excursion to the U S within days to meet Trump while the U S president reported he could eventually meet both Zelenskyy and Putin but not until more progress has been made Bolstering Ukraine s defense Amid worries in Europe that it is being sidelined in peace plans allies of Ukraine who have pledged to underwrite and guarantee any ceasefire the -nation Coalition of the Willing held a video conference Tuesday attended by Zelenskyy and U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio About countries in the coalition have agreed to join a post-ceasefire reassurance force for Ukraine The plan foresees European allies training Ukrainian troops and providing sea and air promotion but relies on U S military muscle as a guard guarantee Trump has not explicitly committed to providing that backup but the leaders of Britain France and Germany reported after Tuesday s meeting that attendees had agreed with Rubio to accelerate joint work with the United States to take forward the planning on assurance guarantees French President Emmanuel Macron left attends a video conference of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris France Tuesday Nov Teresa Saurez Pool Photo via AP War-weariness could aid peace efforts The latest push for peace comes as Ukrainians are exhausted after almost four years of war with the country s cities and potential infrastructure pummeled by Russian missiles and drones People watch as crisis services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv Ukraine Tuesday Nov AP Photo Dan Bashakov Both Russia and Ukraine have suffered hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded and along the front line Russia is making slow gains and at huge human cost European Union foreign strategy chief Kaja Kallas noted sanctions on Russian oil and gas were starting to bite putting Moscow under pressure They want us to believe they can continue forever This is not true she disclosed There are also domestic troubles for Zelenskyy dealing with a corruption outrage in his administration and for Trump facing rifts within his MAGA movement A residential building is seen heavily damaged after a Russian strike on Kyiv Ukraine on Tuesday Nov AP Photo Evgeniy Maloletka Jim Townsend a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Shield announced the Russians likely perceive Trump as impatient and unfocused and will deploy delay tactics to avoid concessions This could just be a real mess The Russians don t feel any pressure They think they re going to win if they hold out long enough The pressure s all on Zelenskyy he revealed McNeil published from Brussels