BERLIN, Nov 22: The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Ukraine on Friday stressed the need to safeguard "vital European and Ukrainian interests", Berlin said, after the US presented a plan that demands numerous concessions from Kyiv.
Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer "welcomed the United States' effort" but assured Volodymyr Zelensky of their "unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace".
Zelensky held the call with his top European allies after US President Donald Trump backed a 28-point plan to end the war that demands Kyiv give up land, cut its army, pledge never to join NATO and hold snap elections.
Under the plan, Moscow would not only keep territories that it occupies but get more land currently controlled by Ukraine, while the West would lift sanctions on Russia.
Provincial leaders of ruling coalition urge presidential candid...
In a statement after the four-way phone call, Germany said the leaders "welcomed the commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and the willingness to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees".
"They agreed to continue pursuing the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term," the statement added.
They stressed the need that the Ukraine frontline, known as the line of contact, "remains the starting point for any understanding".
The US plan, by contrast, proposes that the Ukrainian regions of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian and other embattled areas will be "frozen along the line of contact".
And while the American plan calls for the Ukrainian armed forces to be limited to 600,000 personnel, the four leaders stressed that the military must "remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine's sovereignty".
Merz, Macron, Starmer and Zelensky also held the common view that "any agreement affecting European states, the European Union, or NATO requires the approval of the European partners or a consensus among the allies".
Ukrainian President Zelensky said Kyiv was "working" on the US-drafted peace proposal, insisting it must ensure a "dignified" peace for Ukraine after the document adhered to many of Moscow's demands.
"We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace," Zelensky said on social media after holding a call with European allies.
