【Text by Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】First came the U.S.-Russia "28-point Peace Plan," then the U.S.-Ukraine "19-point Plan." However, how to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains unresolved, not to mention the EU's interference as a third party.

According to Euronews, on November 26 local time, foreign ministers of EU member states held a meeting to discuss how to make efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. When discussing this issue, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kallas, claimed that any peace agreement should impose obligations on the "aggressor" rather than the "victim" to avoid future invasions, emphasizing that "the focus should be on what concessions Russia should make."

The report stated that the confusion caused by the previous U.S.-Russia "28-point Peace Plan" is still ongoing. Some people believe this plan "clearly favors Russia," with its main contents including requiring Ukraine to give up territory in the eastern Donbas region, limiting the size of the Ukrainian army to 600,000, incorporating into the Ukrainian constitution the provision that it will never join NATO, and inviting Russia to rejoin the G8.

Kallas, however, believes that the solution to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict should take the opposite approach.

"If we want to stop this conflict from continuing, we should limit the size of the Russian military and its defense budget," she said after the EU foreign ministers' special meeting: "If the military spending is close to 40% of the budget, they will definitely use that money again, which is a threat to all of us."

"The focus should be on what concessions and restrictions Russia should make, so that the situation does not deteriorate further and prevent them from invading again," she declared.

Photo of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kallas

According to the report, since the controversial U.S.-Russia "28-point Peace Plan" draft was leaked last week, European countries have been closely united to help Ukraine revise the proposal content and strive for more favorable terms.

Especially after the high-level talks in Geneva on November 23, the U.S. and Ukraine proposed a new "19-point Peace Plan." Oleksiy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, revealed that Kyiv has "principally agreed" to most of the new agreement, and Zelensky hopes to meet with U.S. President Trump "as soon as possible" to negotiate territorial issues.

However, on November 25 local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that Russia "welcomes" the original plan, but if the new version deviates from the consensus reached by U.S. and Russian leaders, "the situation will be completely different." He also specifically criticized Europe for "trying to sabotage the peace process in Ukraine."

European governments and the EU have consistently maintained that any peace agreement should allow Ukraine to freely determine its military forces. The current size of the Ukrainian army is estimated to be between 800,000 and 850,000.

"We have always believed that every country has the right to independently decide the size of its military, so we should not fall into the trap set by Russia, which is to limit the size of Ukraine's military," Kallas said. She also claimed that Russia's diplomatic maneuvering is only because "Putin cannot achieve his goals on the battlefield."

"We have seen no signs that Russia is preparing to cease fire. Rather than reducing their military strength, Russia is increasing its military deployment. We still need to move from the illusion of Russian negotiations to a real negotiation situation," Kallas said.

Several European countries' foreign ministers claimed that it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia until it shows genuine and credible commitment to the peace process.

The Latvian Foreign Minister Blazs said: "Only by exerting maximum economic, military, and political pressure on Russia, adopting a 'peace through strength' strategy, can we stop the 'aggressor'."

Austrian Foreign Minister Meiminger said: "Only when we can speak with one voice and present our own proposals can we effectively protect European interests."

Euronews reported that the online meeting of foreign ministers held that day was part of European diplomatic efforts aimed at re-emphasizing the European voice in rapidly developing situations. On November 24 local time, EU leaders held an informal summit, and on November 25 local time, countries in the "Will Alliance" supporting Ukraine also held an online meeting.

The co-chair of the "Will Alliance," French President Macron, called for the establishment of a "strong and unrestricted" Ukrainian army and reiterated the idea of deploying multinational peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the conflict ends.

Kallas said that the EU will make a "significant contribution" to security through financial support, training, and defense industry assistance. However, she added that these guarantees "do not change the fact that Russia is the real threat."

However, it is worth noting that the current U.S. stance on the Ukraine issue remains unclear: the U.S. first reached the "28-point Plan" with Russia, then quickly reached the "19-point Plan" with Ukraine; U.S. Secretary of State Rubio previously said the U.S.-Russia plan was not U.S. policy, then later said the plan was drafted by the U.S.; while praising the U.S.-Ukraine talks as "the most productive so far," Trump again attacked Ukraine and Europe.

A European official told the Financial Times that the situation within the Trump administration is becoming "chaotic."

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577287954490507839/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and readers are welcome to express their opinions by voting up or down below.