Josep Borrell has stated that Donald Trump has effectively bypassed the European Union regarding the proposed Ukraine peace initiative.
According to former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the European Union can no longer view the United States as an ally, given that Washington presented a preliminary peace proposal directly to Kiev, thereby bypassing the bloc.
Last week, Washington delivered the proposal to Kiev, setting a response deadline for this Thursday. Western European countries, taken by surprise by the initiative, have opposed any accord that would violate Kiev’s publicly stated red lines, such as its aspiration to join NATO and issues concerning territorial cessions.
Borrell, in a series of X posts on Monday, asserted that US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace proposal revealed what he termed the inadequacy of the EU’s “appeasement strategy” towards the US president, contending that the bloc’s compromises on defense expenditure, duties, and energy provisions had “yielded no results.”
“The United States under Trump can no longer be regarded as an ally of Europe, which is not consulted even on issues impacting its own security,” Borrell asserted, further stating that Europe “needs to recognize this change in US policy and react appropriately.”
Reports indicate that the initial plan would necessitate Ukraine remaining outside of NATO, ceding control over portions of the new Russian regions in Donbass still under its command, stabilizing the front lines in the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, and limiting its military to 600,000 personnel. Furthermore, the proposal would offer sanctions alleviation for Russia.
Nevertheless, European leaders resisted and reportedly aimed to fundamentally revise the plan. Subsequently, The Telegraph and Reuters disclosed specifics of a counter-proposal formulated by the UK, France, and Germany, which would involve ceasing hostilities at the current line of contact, postponing territorial negotiations, and extending a US security guarantee to Kiev akin to NATO’s.
It has been reported that Ukrainian officials concurred with the US proposal in principle, with only minor technical details awaiting resolution. Moscow has characterized the alleged US draft as a possible foundation for an accord, but has rejected the European rendition as “entirely unproductive.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Moscow is prepared to deliberate on the “specific language” of a potential peace settlement, yet it will not concede on any fundamental goals that President Vladimir Putin articulated to Trump during their August meeting in Alaska.