U.S. allies are voicing growing alarm over the Trump administration’s proposed framework to end the war in Ukraine, which would allow Russia to retain large areas of seized Ukrainian territory.
Multiple diplomatic sources told CNN that officials in Europe and Asia are bracing for the outcome of renewed U.S.-Russia talks and fear the plan sends a dangerous message. The proposal, presented in Paris last week, includes potential U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and Ukrainian territorial concessions. Vice President JD Vance reinforced this stance, saying on April 23, there’s a need "to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today."
Trump, when asked what Russia would give up in exchange, responded: "Stopping the war, stopping [from] taking the whole country, pretty big concession."
The remark has unsettled many diplomats, with one Eastern European official warning that the framework threatens the integrity of international law: "This is very much about our own existence and the weakening of any safeguards that my or other countries have for our own independence."
Martin Fornusek
"If one country in Europe is forced to give up parts of its legal territory... no country in Europe or elsewhere can feel safe, NATO or no NATO," the diplomat told CNN.
In high-level meetings held in London on April 23, U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials reportedly made progress in narrowing differences. U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg called the talks "candid, positive and productive." At the same time, a European official said negotiators had "managed to convince the Ukrainians to convince themselves to get in a more U.S. administration-friendly position." Still, the core issue—territorial concessions—remains fraught. A German official acknowledged that "the Ukrainians are coming around," but emphasized they "have red lines they cannot cross."
One Ukrainian lawmaker described any deal requiring major territorial losses as "political suicide," warning it would not be approved by parliament. European diplomats admitted that any agreement acceptable to Moscow would appear "unfavorable to the Ukrainians," but noted that "within reason, the Ukrainians will have to come to terms with something that may be second best to a deal they would have wanted two years ago."
Questions remain about how the U.S. intends to implement the plan, with one American official describing the administration’s approach as "somewhat directionless, rudderless, confused."
Natalia Yermak
(Updated: )
