French media: Comparison of old and new peace plans: Ukraine has made progress on 5 key points

After emergency negotiations in Geneva, the US and Ukraine, with the participation of European countries, significantly revised the initial US peace plan to better suit Kyiv's interests. Although the plan has not been officially announced, according to sources provided by Kyiv to AFP, the plan no longer includes Russian extreme terms that were seen as Ukraine's "surrender," but it still does not provide a solution to the issue of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

About the new plan, AFP has outlined the progress made by Ukraine so far:

Territory and Security Assurance

The new version contains about 20 items (previously 28), but it still hasn't resolved the status of the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia. The original plan required Ukraine to "acknowledge" the areas occupied by Russian forces (equivalent to 20% of Ukraine's territory) as under Russian control and withdraw its troops from the areas still controlled by Russia in the Donetsk region. This most unacceptable issue for Kyiv will be discussed directly between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and US President Trump. Ukraine, which has suffered repeated invasions by Russian forces, insists on Western guarantees of an unbreakable security commitment.

Army Size

According to a senior source familiar with the negotiations, the latest plan allows Ukraine to maintain an army of 800,000, while the original plan required the army to be limited to 600,000. The Ukrainian negotiators did not comment on this number, but stated that the Chief of Staff of Ukraine had clearly informed the US side in Geneva that "the ability of Ukraine to defend itself is crucial."

NATO

After the Geneva negotiations, the US and Ukraine jointly announced that any future peace agreement must "completely respect Ukraine's sovereignty." For Ukraine, this means that Russia has no right to veto Ukraine's future accession to NATO, as Kyiv believes joining the alliance is key to preventing future invasions. The original US version required Ukraine to abandon its goal of joining NATO, write it into the constitution, and ask NATO to amend its charter to explicitly exclude the possibility of Ukraine's future membership.

Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant

According to sources close to the Ukrainian delegation, the clause regarding the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which was occupied by Russian forces (the largest nuclear power plant in Europe), "has improved," but details have not been disclosed. The original plan required the power plant to resume operation, with electricity shared equally between Russia and Ukraine.

Ceasefire

"The ceasefire clauses are the same as the first version," said the sources. This clause states that a ceasefire will only be implemented after all parties accept this memorandum. Ukraine and its European allies initially insisted that a ceasefire must be in place before any peace talks could begin.

Kremlin foreign affairs advisor Ushakov said that the Russian side considers "certain points" in the plan to be "positive," but "many contents still need special discussions by experts." Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the ongoing diplomatic efforts a "serious process."

In summary, unlike the initial version, the new plan seems acceptable to Ukraine. President Zelenskyy said on Monday that the plan "incorporates many positive elements" and "has the potential to become a feasible agreement." Ukrainian negotiators said that given the firm stance of the US, they are optimistic about achieving a "lasting peace," but he also emphasized that this is just a framework document and has no timeline.

Sources: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849898190638088/

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