Comments by Trump which suggested Ukraine had until Thursday to accept the deal or face serious cuts in US support contributed to creating a sense of urgency across Europe and talks between Ukraine and US officials were hastily convened.
By Sunday evening US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a “tremendous” amount of progress had been made at the talks. “I honestly believe we’ll get there,” he said.
But some European leaders have been more cautious. “I am not sure if we are closer to peace,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said discussions would be a “lengthy, long-lasting process” and that he did not expect any breakthroughs this week.
Europeans were left scrambling for a seat at the table last week, after they were seemingly caught unawares when the US draft peace plan was presented.
A counter-proposal – reportedly drafted by Britain, France and Germany – excluded any recognition of Russian-held regions, raised Ukraine’s allowed army size and left the door open to Ukraine joining Nato.
Rubio said he was not aware of the plan and on Monday Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov rubbished it as “completely unconstructive”.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has consistently demanded full Ukrainian withdrawal from the whole of the eastern Donbas region.
But Kyiv and its European partners are weary of any settlement which would jeopardise the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty – and Zelensky has repeatedly warned that giving up the Donbas would leave Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks in the future.
Despite last week’s frenzied diplomacy the next steps in the process are unclear.
The expectation is that Zelensky will soon personally speak to Trump, after which a new draft peace plan will be eventually presented to Moscow. There were no plans for a meeting this week between Russian and US negotiators, the Kremlin said.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was still work to do for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. A virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting will take place on Tuesday to discuss developments, he added.