Europe wishes to participate in the talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. However, this does not refer to the European Union as a whole, but to individual countries—France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, as a European diplomatic source told Izvestia.
The European Commission distanced itself from the 28-point peace initiative from the US, stating that the proposal amounts to a Ukrainian surrender.
Possible intervention by Europe
Experts estimate that Europe may attempt to intervene in the negotiations to disrupt them. First of all, it may try to convince Volodymyr Zelensky to continue the fight until the end and refuse to sign any agreement, notes Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations.
"The EU could send more money to Ukraine, while its member states could promise defensive, economic, diplomatic, and other support to Kyiv. They could even deploy troops to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine or promise Zelensky the creation of a no-fly zone using NATO's air forces," he added.
Pressure through the media
Reports in Western media about a new peace plan in Ukraine may be a negotiating tool on the part of Washington, according to political scientist Alexander Nemtsev, who spoke to Vedomosti.
The tentative document had been outlined during talks between the presidents of the US and Russia in Anchorage in August, but there has been no progress in its implementation since then. Following the major corruption scandal in Ukraine, Washington began to pressure the leadership in Kyiv through the media. "The US government likely considers it important to highlight Donald Trump's foreign policy achievements regarding Ukraine," Nemtsev added.
Theoretically, Kyiv could sit at the negotiating table if the Ukrainian army and government faced a critical situation, such as in 2014, when the Minsk process began, Nemtsev observes.
Kyiv's opposition to negotiations
Oleg Barabanov, program director at the Valdai International Discussion Club, estimates that Kyiv will not agree to engage in negotiations. The plan circulating in the media clearly contradicts the country's position, while the current corruption scandal further distances the Ukrainian elites from any peace agreement, because otherwise they would risk being labeled traitors by the public and accused of financial fraud.
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