Western leaders are rallying behind Kiev

European and other Western leaders said on Saturday that a US peace plan was the basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but “additional work” was needed, part of Western efforts to reach a better deal for Kiev before Thursday’s deadline.

Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, European and other Western leaders scrambled to find a coordinated response to US President Donald Trump’s demand that Ukraine accept his 28-point peace plan with Russia by Thursday.

They agreed that national security advisers from the E3 – France, Britain and Germany – would meet European Union, US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Sunday for further discussions. Italy will also send an official, diplomatic sources said.

The US plan, which supports key Russian demands, has been met with measured criticism in many European capitals, with leaders trying to balance praise for Trump for trying to end the fighting while acknowledging that some of the terms of his proposal are unpalatable to Kiev.

“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be necessary for a just and lasting peace,” said the leaders of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway.

“We therefore believe the draft is a baseline that will require additional work,” they said in a statement.

The leaders met after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukraine was faced with the choice of either losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s support for the plan. He appealed to Ukrainians for unity, promising never to betray Ukraine. This signal prompted European leaders to rally.

A German government source said they met in a room in Johannesburg called the “lion” and that the leaders had adopted the “spirit” of the animal in the talks to agree a way to try to secure a better deal for Ukraine. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined the importance of Ukraine’s support for Europe.

“If Ukraine loses this war and possibly collapses, it will have an impact on European politics as a whole, across the European continent. And that is why we are so committed to this issue,” Mertz said on the sidelines of the G20 summit.