BRUSSELS — Ukraine is in talks with allies in Europe about a potential ceasefire plan, after Donald Trump triggered concerns with his recent comments that he could push Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede territory to Russia.
Discussions are underway between Ukrainian officials and their counterparts in London, Paris, Brussels and other capitals over options for a truce that could win the backing of the U.S. president.
One idea is to model the plan clearly on Trump’s Middle East initiative, with a “peace board” mirroring the “council of peace” that he proposed to oversee the administration of Gaza.
Speaking at a press conference in Sweden on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he welcomed the efforts, though added that they needed to be discussed further.
“There are propositions, like from France, from some Europeans and I think we understand each other and some European countries are really very helpful,” the Ukrainian president said. “It’s not like a plan [for] how to totally stop the war, it’s mostly a plan of ceasefire.”
But, he cautioned: “I know some steps of it, but really we have to discuss it, it’s not done.”
The European initiative is coming as Trump’s peace efforts have hit a new wall. On Tuesday, the White House said a mooted meeting between Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Hungary was not imminent, after Moscow reportedly rejected the idea that a ceasefire should be agreed on the current battlefield contact lines.
One person familiar with the discussions, granted anonymity like others quoted here to speak freely, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer put forward the idea of a separate ceasefire plan that Ukraine’s allies in Europe would all sign up to. However, a U.K. official disputed this account and said there was no finalized proposal he was pushing forward.
A spokesperson for Starmer said: “We’re working intensively with our allies and partners to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position before, during and after any ceasefire.”
The “peace board” idea, first reported by Bloomberg, is just one of many plans that European allies are working on and none of them is yet final, people familiar with the discussions said. EU leaders are discussing long-term finance for Ukraine, among other matters, at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The following day, leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing, led by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, will meet to discuss how best to continue to support Ukraine, including potential options for a ceasefire proposal, the people said. There’s no finalized blueprint for a ceasefire, the people added.
Eva Hartog contributed to this report.
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