Agency Report –
Ukraine’s response to the latest version of the US peace plan also addresses the question of territorial concessions, a main sticking point in negotiations to end the war launched by Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday.
Kiev submitted its response to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday detailing “which territorial concessions Ukraine is willing to make,” Merz said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin.
“However, that is a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people,” Merz stressed, adding that European leaders also made this point in talks with Trump on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has so far consistently rejected ceding territory to Russia, one of Moscow’s main demands for stopping the fighting in Ukraine.
Trump said late on Wednesday that he had spoken by phone with Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the situation in Ukraine.
Merz said the European leaders invited the US side to jointly discuss Ukraine’s response at the weekend. Ukraine’s proposal, which has been coordinated with its European allies, was not yet known to Trump at the time of the call, according to the chancellor, who described the conversation as “really very constructive”.
Merz said potential talks over the weekend might be followed by a meeting in Berlin next week, but it was still unclear whether the US would participate.
“That depends very much on the joint drafting of the papers that are currently being worked on. I am reasonably confident that we will succeed,” the German leader said.
A 28-point peace plan initially put forward by the Trump administration was sharply criticized by many as a Russian “wish list” because it essentially adopted Moscow’s demands.
Under the plan, Ukraine would not only forgo NATO membership but also restrict the size of its armed forces and withdraw from areas in the east of the country that it currently controls with well-developed defensive positions.
In return, Moscow would commit to refraining from any further attacks on its neighbour.
Following the release of the initial proposal last month, US and Ukrainian officials have held a series of meetings to work on a version acceptable to Kiev.
NATO boss Rutte reiterated concerns that Russia might attack a member state next if it is successful in Ukraine.
“We’re Russia’s next target,” he said in a speech delivered during his visit to Berlin.
The task now facing NATO was to “stop a war before it starts,” he said.
“And to do that, we need to be crystal clear about the threat.”
Rutte again called on NATO states to show greater commitment towards increasing defence spending, after the alliance agreed to up expenditure to at least 3.5% of gross domestic product earlier this year, plus an additional 1.5% on defence-related projects such as infrastructure.
“Our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe, and Ukraine must have what it needs to defend itself,” he said.
“I fear that too many [NATO members] are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency, and too many believe that time is on our side.”
