European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a broad show of support for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv faces a deadline set by US President Donald Trump to accept a 28-point peace plan by next Thursday.
“From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression,” von der Leyen said, adding that European leaders will meet on Saturday in the margins of the G20 meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She said that “we are clear that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Earlier, Trump confirmed he had given Kyiv until 27 November to accept his administration’s proposal to end the war with Russia, saying deadlines can be extended “if things are working well”.
“Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Radio when asked if he had given Ukraine until next Thursday to agree to a 28-point US plan to halt the conflict.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation published on social media that he will not “betray” his country as he pushed back on the US plan to end the war on terms favourable to Moscow.
However he acknowledged that Kyiv risked losing Washington as an ally and said that he would propose “alternatives” to US President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan.
According to three sources cited by Reuters, Ukraine was developing an alternative to the 28-point plan in coordination with Britain, France, and Germany. The other European partners were not involved in discussions on the US plan.
Russia, meanwhile, would not only gain territory but be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, under a draft of the plan, seen by AFP.
Moscow appeared confident on Friday, with the Kremlin warning Zelenskyy to negotiate or face further territorial losses.
(cs, sm)