The disclosure in the press of a new US-Russian ‘peace plan’, which would formalise the situation on the ground and provide for the military weakening of Ukraine, forced European leaders to hold urgent talks on Friday 21 November in an attempt to coordinate a response to an initiative from which they had been excluded (see EUROPE 13756/1).
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, held talks with his German, French and British counterparts. While he expressed his appreciation of the American efforts to end the war, on X he stressed the need to achieve “a just and dignified peace”.
For his part, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, considered that the line of contact should remain “the basis for all negotiations”.
From Johannesburg, where she is taking part in the G20 Summit, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has indicated that discussions between Europeans will take place on the fringes of the Summit, as well as with Mr Zelensky. “Nothing can be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine”, she stressed.
The President of the European Council, António Costa, admitted that the European Union had not been “officially” informed of the existence of the American-Russian plan. He reiterated that the EU remained “fully committed to ensure unwavering support to Ukraine, on principles of the United Nations Charter”.
On Friday, the Commission’s spokesperson, Paulo Pinho, assured us that the Europeans were continuing their intensive work to continue financing Ukraine in the medium term (see EUROPE 13753/13). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)