Tuesday saw a surge in diplomatic activity after US and Ukrainian negotiators met two days earlier in Geneva to discuss Trump’s preliminary peace plan, which was seen in Ukraine as a Russian wish list that calls on Kiev to cede territory to Moscow, limit its military forces and abandon joining NATO.
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The plan has since been revised, with the emerging proposal reportedly taking into account the concerns of Ukraine and its European allies.
Speaking at a video conference of the so-called Coalition of the Interested – a group of 30 countries supporting Ukraine – President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev was ready to “move forward” with the as-yet-unpublished “framework”, although they still needed to address “sensitive points”.
Earlier, a Ukrainian official told Reuters news agency that Kiev supported “the essence of the framework”. Adding to that sense of momentum, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff who led the talks in Geneva, told the US news website Axios that the security guarantees Ukraine was demanding looked “very solid”.
Speaking at the White House, Trump acknowledged that resolving the Ukraine war was “not easy”, but added, “We are getting closer to an agreement.”
“I thought this (deal) would be easy, but I think we’re making progress,” he said.
Later on his Truth Social forum he said he would send envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to resolve “some” remaining differences on the deal.
He said he hoped to meet with Putin and Zelensky “soon”, “but only when the agreement to end this war is final or, in its final stages”.
Russia, which launched a deadly missile bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Kiev last night, did not seem confident of progress.
Russia has not yet seen the revised plan, which is unpublished, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov underlined that it should reflect the “spirit and letter” of the understanding reached between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Alaska summit earlier this year.
Lavrov warned, “If the spirit and letter of the anchorage are erased in the context of the key understanding we have established, then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation (for Russia).”
Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova said there was a lot of “uncertainty” in the Kremlin, although there were reportedly “behind-the-scenes talks” between Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and US counterpart Steve Witkoff, “who reportedly worked on the early stages of Trump’s planning”.
The Russian side is not happy with the amendments to the peace plan, he said.
“Unlike the initial US plan presented by Donald Trump, which included 28 points, the so-called European version does not include withdrawing Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass, it allows Kiev to join NATO, and it does not limit the size of its armed forces,” Shapovalova said.
Still, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll had earlier sounded upbeat from a meeting with Russian officials in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, with his spokesman saying: “Talks are going well and we remain optimistic.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said on Twitter that “there are some delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be ironed out and will require further dialogue between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States”.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said it was “unclear when these talks will take place, who will be involved, and what they will look like”. But, he added, given the upcoming US Thanksgiving holiday on November 27, it was clear they would not be imminent.
Macron urges ‘pressure’ on Putin
As the US pressed to bridge the gap between Ukraine and Russia, leaders of the willing coalition, who had promised to underwrite and guarantee any ceasefire, moved quickly on security guarantees and a reconstruction plan for Ukraine.
In the video meeting, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in the presence of Zelensky and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the leaders decided to establish a task force between the US and coalition countries to “strengthen” security guarantees.
Trump has not committed to providing backup “assurance forces” for Ukraine after the ceasefire. Plans for the force include European allies training Ukrainian troops and providing maritime and air support, but would rely on US military strength to do the job.
Speaking after the video call, Macron said discussions in Geneva had shown that, contrary to what was outlined in a preliminary draft of the US plan, there should be no limits on the Ukrainian military.
He also said that a decision on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, at the center of a political and legal standoff in Europe over funding for Ukraine, would be “finalized in the coming days” with the European Commission.
Western countries have agreed to freeze about $300 billion of Russia’s assets in 2022, mostly in Belgium, but there is no agreement on how to proceed. Some support seizing assets, while others, such as Belgium, remain cautious due to legal concerns.
According to reports, Trump’s plan would split the assets between reconstruction and US-Russian investment.
Macron took aim at Russia, saying “sustained pressure” should be put on Moscow for talks. “On the ground, the reality is the exact opposite of the desire for peace,” he said, pointing to Russia’s overnight attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, which killed seven people and disrupted electricity and heating systems.
In his daily evening address, Zelensky said: “What is particularly reprehensible is that Russia carried out such attacks while negotiations are ongoing on how to end the war”.
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