New US peace plan would require Ukraine to halve armed forces and recognise Russian as state language – FT

The Financial Times has published new details of a so-called peace plan drawn up in Miami by Russian and US representatives. The plan has reportedly already been passed to the Ukrainian side, which has deemed it unacceptable.

Source: The Financial Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: US digital news outlet Axios was the first to report on the 28-point plan, which was discussed by Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev in Miami at the end of last month.

Several people briefed on the effort have told the FT that the new radical proposal from Russia and the US envisages significant concessions from Kyiv and that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already been urged to accept it.

A group of current and former Russian and American officials were involved in drawing up the plan, which is still under development, a source familiar with the talks told the Financial Times.

The plan was handed to Kyiv this week by Witkoff when he met with Rustem Umierov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, in Miami.

People with direct knowledge of the draft say it would require Ukraine to give up the remainder of Donbas, including areas currently controlled by Kyiv, and to cut the size of its armed forces by half. Reuters has also reported that the plan includes territorial concessions.

Crucially, the plan also requires Ukraine to give up key categories of weaponry and envisages a reduction in US military aid, which has been vital to its defence.

The plan further provides for Russian to be recognised as an official state language in Ukraine and for the Russian Orthodox Church to be granted official status.

The person familiar with the draft described it as a very generic document that was "heavily tilted towards Russia". Another person familiar with the plan called it "very comfortable for Putin".

Kyiv officials who have seen the plan say it closely mirrors the Kremlin's maximalist demands and that without substantial changes it will be unacceptable to Ukraine.

Background:

• Dmitriev was in the US at the end of October for talks on ending the war.
• The White House has said it is hopeful of agreeing a framework to end the Russo-Ukrainian war by the end of the month.

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