A Ukrainian delegation appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has started work in Switzerland, the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, who is leading the delegation, has said.
High-level delegations from the United States, Ukraine, the European Union and Britain are scheduled to hold talks in Geneva on November 23 on the US peace proposals, which came to light this week and which Kiev’s allies say are tilted in Russia’s favour.
“Held the first meeting with the national security advisers of the leaders of Britain, France and Germany: Jonathan Powell, Emmanuel Bonn, Günther Sautter. The next meeting is with the US delegation. They are in a very constructive mood. In general, today we have a number of meetings in different formats. We continue to work together to achieve a sustainable and just peace for Ukraine,” Yermak wrote in a telegram.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope for a “positive result” of the negotiations.
“This time in Switzerland teams are meeting to work on steps to end the war. It is good that diplomacy has been activated and that the conversation can be constructive. The Ukrainian and American teams, the teams of our European partners are in close contact and I very much hope that there will be a result. We need to stop the bloodshed and ensure that the war is not fuelled again. I am waiting for the outcome of today’s talks, I expect all participants to be constructive. We need a positive result for all of us,” he wrote on social network X.
The US delegation will reportedly include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, who visited Kiev the other day. The EU Council and the European Commission are being represented at the talks by top advisers to their leaders.
EU leaders said the previous day that they support US efforts to resolve Russia’s war with Ukraine, but believe that the 28-point plan presented by Washington (which has not yet been officially released, although key elements of it have already been published in the media) needs to be finalised.
“We are ready to enter this process to ensure the sustainability of the future world. We clearly adhere to the principle that borders cannot be changed by force,” the document published on the European Commission’s website said.
According to The Washington Post, among the proposals prepared by the EU leaders are the rejection of the US plan to limit the size of the Ukrainian army, the return to Ukraine of control over the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the Kinburn Spit, as well as the refusal to transfer to Russia the part of Donetsk Region controlled by Ukraine before the ceasefire and to discuss this and other territorial issues only after the ceasefire is established.
On 22 November, US President Donald Trump said that his administration’s proposed peace plan for Ukraine was being worked on and was “not a final option”.
Before that, Trump said next Thursday, 27 November, was the deadline for Kiev to accept a US-backed peace proposal to end the war Russia is waging against Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to cut off intelligence and arms sales to Ukraine if Kiev does not sign the proposed US-backed peace deal.
Radio Liberty has a draft text of the US peace plan. Among other things, the draft envisages recognising Crimea, Donetschina and Luhansk region as de facto Russian, while Kherson and Zaporizhia would be “frozen” on the line of contact. In addition, the proposal envisages holding elections in Ukraine 100 days after the signing of the agreement. The plan also stipulates that Ukraine must enshrine non-alignment and rejection of NATO in its constitution (and the alliance must also declare this), and the size of Ukraine’s armed forces will be limited – by how much is not specified. But according to other media reports, there is talk of limiting it to 600,000 military personnel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received a copy of the plan and said he was ready to work with the US on it. His office noted that Kiev and Washington agreed to “work on the points of the plan in a way that will lead to a dignified end to the war.”
Russia has said it is ready for peace talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had received a 28-point U.S. plan on Ukraine, which he said “can be the basis for a final peace settlement.”
The USA plan has been criticised among influential Republican members of Trump’s party, including releasing a joint statement with Democrats calling for changes to the proposals.
“We will not achieve lasting peace by offering Putin concession after concession and fatally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” said the statement, signed by three Democrats, one Republican and one independent senator.
“History teaches us that Putin understands only force and will not abide by any agreement unless it is backed by force,” the statement added.
Veteran Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, a former Senate leader, wrote on X that “rewarding the carnage in Russia would be catastrophic to America’s interests”