Bloomberg: Europe seeks to prevent Ukraine from making territorial concessions

The main goal of European countries right now is to prevent a situation in which Ukraine, under pressure from the U.S., might withdraw its troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Bloomberg reports.

Negotiations between Ukraine and the U.S. on ending the war are proving difficult. There is concern that former U.S. President Donald Trump could refuse to participate in a settlement if a peace agreement is not reached.

European officials believe that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops without serious security guarantees from the U.S. would not lead to a fair peace and could trigger a new, broader war with Russia.

Bloomberg adds that European representatives plan to visit the U.S. in the coming days to discuss the progress of the negotiations and develop a coordinated position on the Donbas.

Europe is on edge after the US released a peace plan that was drafted with Moscow’s input. The document initially included numerous Russia-friendly concessions that would have forced Ukraine to hand over territory, cap its military and never join the NATO military alliance.

Ukrainian officials were in Florida over the weekend to meet with Witkoff as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Both sides called the talks productive, but noted that contentious issues like territorial concessions had yet to be settled.

“There’s more work to be done,” Rubio told reporters after at least four hours of talks. “This is delicate. It’s complicated.”

By Khagan Isayev