Trump urges EU to pressure Zelensky over peace plan

US President Donald Trump is pressing European leaders to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept his peace plan. He spoke with the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Keir Starmer.

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, December 11.

Trump and European leaders

In a tense conversation with European leaders, Trump repeated his criticism that Zelensky had improperly engaged with the previous US proposal — namely, that he has still not reviewed it. According to Trump, the Ukrainian president has also failed to make it clear that he is ready to consider the peace plan.

At the same time, Trump is pushing Ukraine to accept a peace deal, telling it that it is losing, WSJ writes. He says that European leaders are weak and that Russia holds the "strong cards" in peace negotiations. President Trump has intensified pressure on Ukraine to quickly accept the US-drafted peace plan. However, this plan would require Ukraine to give up certain territories and limit its military forces.

Territory has become the central obstacle to a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The initial proposal put forward by the United States envisages that Kyiv would surrender the "Fortress Belt" — a fortified strip of land that forms the backbone of the country’s defense. Ukraine’s leader cannot accept this. Ukraine’s European partners insist that US security guarantees are vital to any peace deal.

Escalating tensions between Europe and Washington, Trump criticized European leaders, calling them weak, and said that Russia holds the cards in any peace negotiations with Ukraine.

Read more:

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Russia made additional proposals to the US regarding Ukraine