US offers peace deal: Leave occupied lands and drop Ukraine’s NATO bid
Photo: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (Getty Images)
The United States presented its own proposals for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia to its European allies. The plan suggests allowing Russia to keep occupied territories and rules out Ukraine’s NATO membership, Bloomberg reports.
According to European officials who spoke to Bloomberg, the US unveiled the plan during meetings in Paris on April 17.
According to the outlet's sources, the US proposal envisages a freeze of the war, with the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine remaining under Russian control. It also includes the easing of sanctions on Russia and dismisses any discussion of Ukraine joining NATO.
Bloomberg’s sources refused to disclose other details of the plan.
One European official said that these plans would not be a "definitive settlement," and emphasized that Ukraine’s European allies would not recognize the occupied territories as Russian.
The officials also stressed that talks would go nowhere unless Russia agrees to halt hostilities and underlined the need for strong security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any deal.
Paris talks
On Thursday, April 17, a series of high-level meetings took place in Paris between representatives of Ukraine, Europe, and the United States.
Ukraine was represented by the Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. They first held talks with members of the Coalition of the Willing — representatives from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
Senior US officials Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ukrainian and US delegations also held direct talks in Paris.
According to Yermak, this was a new format of negotiations between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States.
During the meetings with European leaders, US officials outlined their goal of achieving a complete ceasefire in Ukraine.
