Crisis diplomacy
West supports Ukraine in peace consultations
Updated 12/01/2025 – 6:32 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Before discussions about ending the war in Moscow, Western states reaffirm their support for Ukraine. The proposal from the USA is far from being the final peace plan, they emphasize.
Ukraine’s Western supporters have backed the country attacked by Russia ahead of the continuation of discussions on ending the war in Moscow. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) emphasized the unity of European partners in the Ukraine negotiations. “We now have important days and weeks ahead of us for Ukraine, which we will enter into in close coordination with each other,” said Merz after a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European partners.
“We have a clear course: No decision about Ukraine and Europe without Ukrainians and without Europeans. No dictated peace over the heads of Ukraine. No weakening or division of the European Union and NATO,” said Merz. The strategic goals include doing everything possible to support Kiev against the Russian aggressor.
After a meeting with Zelensky in Paris, Macron emphasized the important role of the Europeans. “When we talk about security guarantees, they cannot be discussed or negotiated without the Ukrainians, whose territory it is, sitting at the table and without the Europeans and all allies of the Coalition of the Willing sitting at the table, since they are the guarantors and it is also about the security of the European territory.” There will be talks with the USA in the next few days to specify its participation in the security guarantees.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow this Tuesday for renewed talks on ending the Ukraine war. A Ukrainian delegation and US representatives previously met in Florida on Sunday and spoke of progress. However, there is still a lot of work ahead of the individual parties, it was said. The background to the talks is an American 28-point plan that aims to end the war in Ukraine, which has now lasted almost four years. However, this was criticized by many observers as a “Russian wish list”. Europeans and Ukrainians later renegotiated the plan with US representatives, but points remained controversial.
Regarding the talks on a peace plan, Zelensky spoke in Paris of a “process that is not yet over.” “I say frankly that the territorial issue is the most difficult.” The question of using Russian funds frozen in Europe for a possible reconstruction of his country is difficult to accept without involving the Europeans. “The question of security guarantees is very important,” he also said. These are the three most important topics in the discussions. “The plan looks better now,” summarized Zelensky.
