Bloomberg News reporting that, “European nations are working with Ukraine on a 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war along current battle lines, pushing back against Vladimir Putin’s renewed demands to the US for Kyiv to surrender territory in return for a peace deal.” According to Bloomberg sources, “A peace board chaired by US President Donald Trump would oversee implementation of the proposed plan…” Seemingly a reference to Trump's “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
- The plan stipulates that, “both sides commit to halting territorial advances, the ... return of all deported children to Ukraine and exchanges of prisoners. Ukraine would receive security guarantees, funds to repair war damage and a pathway to rapidly join the European Union. Sanctions on Russia would gradually be lifted though some $300 billion in frozen central bank reserves would only be returned once Moscow agrees to contribute toward Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.”
- The plan comes ahead of a tentatively scheduled second in-person summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary. Likely to take place after Trump returns from the APEC summit in early November, where he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- There may be limited optimism in European capitals that such a plan can gain traction with Putin or Trump without including Russian demands for territorial exchanges, regime change, and assurances on Kyiv's NATO aspirations.
- However, the template may be based on the recent US-brokered Gaza peace plan, which managed to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas without a detailed plan for the next phases of the peace plan.
- Notably, the plan, as reported by Bloomberg, primarily focuses on freezing the war along the current front lines before beginning negotiations towards a broader peace deal. It doesn't refrains from referencing territorial exchanges and only mentions Ukraine's EU membership.