Trump gives Zelenskyy until Thursday to decide on his peace proposal

As Ukraine faces the Thursday deadline to either accept or reject the US peace plan, diplomats are trying to negotiate a solution that will not be seen as overtly favorable to Moscow. According to a post on social media on Saturday by Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, a Ukrainian delegation is scheduled to meet with an American delegation in Switzerland.

The announcement comes as Ukraine and its European allies are scrambling to provide a coordinated response to the 28-point plan to end the war that was presented by the US this week. European diplomats have been holding intensive talks since yesterday at the ongoing G20 summit in South Africa, and they plan on presenting a counter-proposal to American President Donald Trump prior to the Thursday deadline. According to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, everyone is interested in peace: “However a peace agreement only makes sense if it is reliable and can guarantee that it will be long-lasting, that it doesn't face problems with adoption in Ukraine, or fails to address the danger of Russia attacking once again, which cannot be excluded in light of the massive arms program Russia has undertaken. Because, we have to ask ourselves; why is Russia arming herself? This is why we need patience right now. We need time. The last thing we need is haste. We all understand that the shooting must end as soon as possible; however, we need time to contemplate on reliable foundations for a long-lasting peace. I doubt this will happen that fast.”

However, President Trump believes that a deal can be reached quickly and is sticking to his Thursday deadline: “Well at some point he's going to have to accept something. You remember in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said; you don't have the cards. Don't forget, I inherited this war. I would have never ... this war never would have happened. But I inherited this war. And I thought he should have made a deal a year ago, two years ago. The ultimate deal would have been if it never started, that would have been a good deal. That could have been done too, if you had the right president. But you didn't have the right president.”

Commenting on the proposed peace plan on Friday night, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had to decide whether it would lose a key ally or its dignity, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the American plan could serve as a basis for a permanent peace agreement.

Source: HRT