The leaders of (most of) the G20 nations are gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for that group's annual meeting. President Trump is boycotting the meeting, citing South Africa's maltreatment of the country's white minority, so he won't be there when the G20 leaders convene a side meeting to discuss the latest peace proposal to end the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Leaders of Europe’s most powerful countries plan to meet Saturday on the sidelines of a global summit in Johannesburg to discuss a response to President Trump’s latest proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The proposal, a 28-point plan, calls for Ukrainian concessions already largely rejected by the country’s president and allies, including demands for land and limits on the size of Ukraine’s military. President Trump has given President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine until next week to agree to the plan, backing him into a seemingly lose-lose scenario as he faces the risk of losing crucial American support if he does not accept.
European leaders now face increased pressure to show they can get Ukraine the economic and military support it needs to continue battling Russia without U.S. support.
The plan worked out bilaterally between the USA and Russia calls for Ukraine to surrender quite a bit of territory, including all of the contested Donbass region, as well as requiring Ukraine to sharply pare back its military, as well as ceding any claims to Crimea, among other regions.
It was always a near-certainty that Ukraine wasn't going to buy that. Now it appears as though much of the European community won't buy it, either.
Read More: Trump Cancels Budapest Summit After Russia Signals It Will Not Budge on Cease Fire Pre-Conditions
Speaking at the summit, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday: "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," before adding that Europe would continue providing Ukraine with significant financial support and maintain sanctions against Russia. The United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer weighed in on Saturday:
On Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement that the leaders in Johannesburg would discuss how to secure a cease-fire and strengthen the Trump plan “for the next phase of negotiations.” “We cannot simply wait for peace,” he said. “We must strain every sinew to secure it.”
This looks a lot like Europe is showing every willingness to keep pouring money and equipment into Ukraine.
Ukraine, of course, was never going to take the deal currently on the table, and it's hard to blame them; it would not only strip away all of Ukraine's eastern provinces, but it would hamstring Ukraine's military, leaving them open to any further aggression by Tsar Vladimir I - or any other unstable Russian dictator to seize control after Tsar Vladimir leaves office. So, any proposal to come out of this G20 huddle-room conversation will have to attempt to divide the baby between Russia and Ukraine, and none of those efforts have been successful to date.
Here's where the matter stands now:
G20 leaders had come to an agreement — by all the countries in attendance, including Russia — on a final summit declaration that called for the peaceful resolution of conflicts without force, said Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa. The declaration, which is not binding, specifically mentions the war in Ukraine.
A non-binding declaration, with Russia committing to nothing. As my grandfather was fond of saying, that and a dime will get you on the cross-town bus.
This remains a developing situation. We will be updating you as events proceed.
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