A US proposal to end the war in Ukraine has sparked disagreement among key European allies, with Paris, Berlin and Helsinki signaling they will not be sidelined in the Geneva talks.
Some European concerns came a day after the foreign minister Marco Rubio said Sunday that the US and Ukraine have made “substantial” progress on an “updated and refined peace framework.” Calling it “the most productive day we have had,” he acknowledged outstanding issues and said matters involving the EU and NATO would proceed along a “separate track.” Negotiators from the US, Ukraine and major European states are expected to continue talks throughout the week.
US AND RUSSIA DRAFT PEACE PLAN FOR UKRAINE, REQUIRING MAJOR CONCESSIONS FROM KIEV
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio address the media after closed-door talks at the US Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. (Emma Farge/Reuters)
The European official called the US plan “a foundation that requires further work,” adding that “the first of these conditions must be the implementation of a ceasefire along the line of contact.” According to the diplomat, France and Britain will convene a meeting of the Coalition of Volunteers on Tuesday to coordinate Europe’s position.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned at the Group of 20 top in South Africa this weekend that Europe cannot be taken out of a settlement. “Wars cannot be ended by great powers over the heads of the affected countries,” he said, adding: “We are still far from a good outcome for everyone.”
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others before talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, at the US mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. (Reuters/Emma Farge)
French president Emmanuel Macron echoed these concerns on the sidelines of the summit, saying that the US plan was “not negotiated with the Europeans,” even though it contains “many provisions that directly concern the Europeans.” He pointed to the proposed limits on Ukraine’s military capacity, calling them “limits on the size of the Ukrainian army – in other words, on its own sovereignty.”
“It is positive in the sense that it proposes a path to peace and recognizes important elements regarding sovereignty, security guarantees and other issues. But it is only a basis for the work that must be resumed, just as we did last summer, because this plan was not negotiated with the Europeans,” Macron told reporters.
TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY AGREE ON CRUCIAL ASPECT TO END WAR IN UKRAINE: ‘GOOD COMPROMISE’
Members of the US and Ukrainian delegations meet on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. (Reuters/Emma Farge)
Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on X Monday that NATO will exercise control over issues within their jurisdiction: “It is clear that Europe and NATO decide on matters that concern them.”
Amid the friction, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox & Friends on Monday that the US efforts still contained constructive elements. He said that “some elements had to be changed, but there were also good things in the plan.” In the interview, Rutte told Brian Kilmeade that President Trump’s team is “working extremely hard to resolve this war,” with the aim of “a lasting peace in Ukraine, a sovereign nation.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by President Donald Trump at the White House on August 18, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynoldes/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reinforced Kiev’s red lines in a speech to the Swedish parliament on Monday: “The aggressor must pay in full for the war he started,” rejecting territorial concessions. “Putin wants legal recognition for what he stole… That is the biggest problem,” Zelenskiy said.
Moscow rejected emerging European ideas as ‘not constructive’, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, according to Reuters.
