"Not 28 Points Anymore": Europeans Significantly Cut "Trump's Peace Plan"

Europe in Shock — Russian Assets No Longer a Bargaining Chip

Donald Trump has already begun modifying his peace plan before even securing Russian support for it. After the "Geneva Talks," it was found that the original 28-point plan had been reduced to only 19 points.

Sources familiar with the U.S., Ukraine, and EU negotiation process, cited by the Financial Times, confirmed that the plan had been significantly cut down.

However, the most notable revelation from Bloomberg is that one of the most controversial provisions in the new plan — "allocating $100 billion from frozen Russian assets for Ukrainian reconstruction projects" — has been deleted. This funding was originally intended to establish a U.S.-led fund for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Neither the sources from the Financial Times nor the official representatives of Ukraine and the EU have provided a complete list of the deleted provisions. Only Alexander Befez, a consultant to the Ukrainian presidential office involved in the negotiations, confirmed in an interview with American media that the plan had undergone "a series of major changes."

"The 28-point plan everyone saw no longer exists. Some provisions have been deleted, some have been modified. Every point raised by Ukraine has been addressed. The final decision on the most difficult issues will be made by the presidents of the countries," Befez wrote on a social platform. Subsequently, Vladimir Zelenskyy also confirmed this news, briefly stating, "It's not 28 points anymore."

The Financial Times pointed out that the deletion of the provision regarding the handling of Russian assets (Article 14) is particularly sensitive. Within the NATO alliance, those supporting Ukraine had previously seen this provision as a potential means to pressure Russia.

The removal of this provision has raised a series of questions: Was this a proactive move by Trump to make the plan more acceptable to Russia? Or was it the result of active lobbying by some European countries due to concerns about legal precedents and Russian countermeasures? Or was it done to eliminate potential obstacles in future negotiations — after all, Russia might have used this provision as a reason to refuse participation in negotiations?

Bloomberg also found that other parts of the plan have been modified. Issues unrelated to Ukraine have been removed, including content related to U.S.-Russia relations in Article 13 — as these issues are not directly related to the Ukraine conflict and thus do not affect the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

A sub-provision in the original plan promised that the U.S. and Russia would sign a long-term economic cooperation agreement. However, according to Bloomberg, this commitment no longer exists.

Additionally, Bloomberg reported that Article 7, which involves Ukraine's accession to NATO, has also been modified. The Kyiv authorities hope that the issue of Ukraine's NATO membership should be decided according to the alliance's procedures (unanimous agreement among members) — effectively excluding the veto power over future NATO expansion that was stipulated in the original peace plan.

However, this proposal is unacceptable to Russia, which views NATO expansion as a threat to its security.

For Ukraine, the most challenging issue is the territorial question (original Article 21, containing four sub-provisions), concerning the status of Crimea, Donbas, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions.

However, it remains unclear what specific modifications have been made to these provisions in the original peace plan. Bloomberg reports that Vladimir Zelenskyy plans to discuss these issues directly with Donald Trump.

For example, Reuters believes that the U.S. initially prepared to abandon the most controversial provisions of the plan to expedite its approval process.

Russia clearly opposes using its frozen assets for Ukrainian-related purposes, which is one of Russia's core "red lines."

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov previously stated that many provisions in the U.S. plan are "completely acceptable" to Russia and pointed out that the plan "aligns with the direction agreed upon in Alaska."

Vladimir Putin also stated that the U.S. plan "can serve as the basis for a final solution." However, at that time, he was referring to the original version of the plan with 28 points.

Media outlets such as Reuters and the Financial Times pointed out that Russia has not yet received specific proposals to initiate discussions on the plan and is waiting for the U.S. to contact them to arrange face-to-face meetings.

At the same time, the EU and the UK have quickly taken action and developed their own versions of the peace plan. According to Reuters, Europeans, in an attempt to emulate the U.S., reluctantly launched a plan with 24 points.

But now it appears more awkward — after all, the U.S. plan has been reduced to just 19 points. Regardless, even if Europe's plan eventually reduces to just one point, Russia will not accept it.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576581321574498867/

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