G20 leaders hold sideline meeting as they scramble to respond to US plan for Ukraine

LAST UPDATE | 22 hrs ago

Eoghan Dalton Reports from Johannesburg

THE US PLAN to end the war in Ukraine “will require additional work”, Western leaders gathered in South Africa for a G20 summit said today.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who is at the summit, went further, telling reporters that there are “serious concerns [about] the direction of travel” of the proposal.

The 28-point US plan has been welcomed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed back against it.

The plan would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.

Ukraine and European countries are scrambling to come up with counter-proposals ahead of the tight deadline that Donald Trump has given to Kyiv to approve the deal.

“We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the G20 leaders said in a joint statement.

The text was signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Norway, and of the European Union, as well as the prime ministers of Canada and Japan.

Trump: Plan is not my final offer

In the latest tonight, Trump left room for maneuvering in negotiations as he said the plan he has presented to Ukraine is not the final offer to end the fighting.

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“No, not my final offer,” Trump told US media according to CNN.

“We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other we have to get it ended,” he added.

Asked by reporters what may happen if Zelenskyy doesn’t accept the plan by his deadline of Thursday, Trump said:

Then he can continue to fight his little heart out.

Speaking this evening, Zelenskyy said consultations will take place with partners “regarding the steps needed to end the war” after issuing a decree naming Ukraine’s delegation for the talks.

“Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion”, having annexed Crimea in 2014 and mounted a full-scale offensive in 2022, he said.

Taoiseach on G20 peace talks

Speaking after a meeting of the leaders, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the “general thrust of opinion is to engage” in the process around Trump’s plan.

“I think it is a very serious moment in the war, and it’s one that has to be handled with some principal degree of firmness and skill to get the right outcomes for Ukraine, also for Europe.”

He added that we have been in this position before with Russia’s war on Ukraine, and cautioned that there was some way to go.

Following today, security officials from Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss Trump’s plan to end the war.

With reporting by AFP

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