Parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are still controlled by Ukraine. Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. According to the draft, the regions would be “de facto recognized as Russian, including by the United States.”
According to the 28-point plan, Ukraine would agree to limit its military to 600,000 people and never join the NATO military alliance. No NATO forces would be stationed in Ukraine either. However, European fighter jets would be based in Poland to protect Ukraine.
The details of the plan to provide Ukraine with a NATO-style security guarantee, reported by Axios , state that a Russian “widespread, deliberate, and sustained armed attack” on Ukraine would be considered an attack that “threatens the peace and security of the transatlantic community.” The United States and its allies would respond to such an attack “including with military force.” A U.S. official confirmed that the draft promises to respond to future attacks, AFP reports.
Russia in the G8
At the same time, Russia would once again become part of the G8, which is now known as the G7. Between 1997 and 2014, the club was called the G8, when Russia was also included. The country's trust was then considered to have been lost with the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
Russia would also be reintegrated into the global economy – but if Russia were to invade Ukraine again, all sanctions would be reimposed, according to the plan, which the US says is still a “working document.”
"It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and NATO will not expand further," according to the draft.
“The US has the power”
Ukraine has previously announced that it has accepted the proposal, and that it wants to “work constructively” with its allies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says in his evening speech that Russia has no real desire for peace, “otherwise they would not have started this war.”
The United States has the power to ensure that Russia's desire to end the war is finally taken seriously, Zelensky says, adding that "all my time" is now being spent on it.
The Kremlin threatens Zelensky on Friday to start negotiations "now" or lose more territory.
The effective work being done by the Russian armed forces should convince Zelensky that it is better to negotiate now than later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to AFP.
