European leaders on Monday welcomed what they called steps in the right direction at talks in Geneva on US peace proposals seen as highly favorable to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, but gave few details and warned the discussions still have a long way to go.
“The negotiations were progress, but there are still major issues that need to be resolved,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on social platform X about Sunday’s meeting in Switzerland.
The talks touched on a 28-point peace proposal put forward by the United States last week, which sparked unrest in Kiev and European capitals by strongly backing Moscow’s demands.
The plan puts pressure on Ukraine to agree to cede some of its territory to Moscow and reduce the size of its army, leaving it vulnerable. The proposal also seeks agreement from Europe that Ukraine will never be admitted to NATO’s military alliance, although the alliance has previously said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to membership.
The surprise appearance of the peace plan coincided with a dark period for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, less than three months before the war reached its fourth anniversary.
Ukraine faces heavy pressure on the front lines against Russia’s largest army, is strapped for cash and Zelensky tries to defuse a major corruption scandal that has tainted his government.
The meeting in Geneva offered some hope for Kiev. “Diplomacy has been revived, and that is good. Very good,” Zelensky said on Sunday evening.
It was unclear whether talks would continue Monday. Crucially, the Kremlin has not yet expressed an opinion on the latest developments.
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the talks in Switzerland, “made a decisive positive contribution to ensuring that this plan can be accepted by both the European and Ukrainian parties.”
“I would like to say that all issues related to Europe or NATO have been removed from this plan, which is a decisive success that we achieved yesterday,” he told public broadcaster Deutschlandradio.
Rubio said Sunday that the talks were “very valuable” and marked the most productive day in “a long time.”
“I’m very optimistic that we can accomplish something,” Rubio said.
However, the harsh reality of the war continued to cast a shadow over Ukraine as Russian forces continued their deadly and devastating attacks on civilian areas.
Russian drones attacked residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, overnight, killing four people and wounding 13, including two children, authorities said.
According to the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, eight residential buildings, an educational facility and power lines were damaged in the attack.
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office posted photos showing houses on fire, rubble strewn across gardens and firefighters and war crimes prosecutors working at the scene.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 162 attack and decoy drones over the country last night.
Russia also resumed its nighttime drone attacks on Ukrainian civilian and port infrastructure near the Romanian border, the Ministry of Defense of Romania, a NATO member state, said on Monday.
Romania sent two Eurofighter Typhoon and two F-16 aircraft in response to the drones near the border, the ministry said.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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