Many parts of US President Donald Trump’s controversial Ukraine peace plan cannot be implemented without the approval of the country’s European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
Speaking at the sidelines of G20 talks in South Africa, Macron said proposals such as the use of frozen Russian assets and Ukrainian accession to the European Union could only be determined by the EU.
“The frozen assets are held by the Europeans. Ukraine’s European integration is in the hands of the Europeans. What NATO does is in the hands of NATO member states,” the French president said, adding that the US plan contained many aspects which required broader consent.
He stressed that European allies want peace, but a peace that takes into account the security interests of Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
France, Germany and Britain are set to push the US to revise the 28-point plan at a meeting in Geneva on Sunday, after the proposal, widely leaked earlier this week, sparked alarm in Kiev and across European capitals as it would hand broad territorial and military concessions to Russia.
Under the plan, territory in the eastern Donbass region that is currently still under Ukrainian control would be ceded to Russia, while Ukraine’s military would be sharply reduced to 600,000 personnel.
NATO would be asked to declare that the alliance will not expand further, effectively ruling out Ukrainian membership.
Russia, meanwhile, would only have to make comparatively minor concessions, including relinquishing state assets that are frozen in the EU, which would be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
In exchange for agreeing to these concessions, Ukraine was promised unspecified security guarantees from Washington. Ukraine would also be allowed to join the European Union.