The talks are taking place on neutral ground in Geneva, Switzerland. US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, accompanied by US Special Envoy for Ukraine Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, are meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian delegation, led by Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, and their French, British, German and other European counterparts to discuss Donald Trump's peace plan. A representative from Italy is also expected to participate.

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office described the meetings - taking place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, without the presence of the media - with representatives of Britain, France and Germany as very constructive. Consultations with the American delegation were to follow.

The fact that British and European officials are taking seats at the negotiating table is a significant victory, as they had until now been excluded from the most recent US peace effort, Politico reports.

The 28-point plan, submitted to Kiev just two days before the meeting, aims, according to the American president, to end the conflict sparked by the Russian invasion in February 2022.

However, European diplomats describe it as equivalent for Ukraine to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles for Germany in terms of territorial losses, military concessions and economic terms. Western governments have seen it as an attempt to pressure Ukraine into giving Vladimir Putin everything he wants.

The plan, accompanied by an ultimatum set for November 27, Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and threats - such as the cessation of US information sharing with Kiev in the event of refusal - nevertheless constitutes the working basis for the Geneva negotiations, explained representatives of the E3 countries (Germany, France and Britain), who met yesterday, Saturday, in Johannesburg, on the sidelines of the G20 summit boycotted by Donald Trump.

Is there an alternative proposal?

There is no official alternative proposal. And no one in Europe intends to clash with the United States by rejecting the plan, for fear of being seen to undermine peace efforts, analysts say.

Europeans do not want a confrontation with the United States, risking their own security and the entire balance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The United States plays an important role in supporting Ukraine. And we need their support in this war of resistance. They have put forward proposals and I think all those who are overly critical are wrong to overlook the role played by the United States, French President Emmanuel Macron admitted yesterday, Saturday.

On a tight rope

The Europeans are therefore called upon to demonstrate the utmost diplomatic skill to completely rewrite the 28-point plan without provoking a reaction from their American counterparts. It is a kind of balancing act between Ukraine's security and its impact on security in Europe, and on the other hand, preserving the transatlantic relationship. We are walking a tightrope, a French diplomat told Le Monde.

To prepare for these discussions, the Europeans and their allies, through numerous meetings held on the sidelines of the G20, tried to coordinate and identify the acceptable, rejectable or modifiable aspects of the plan. At the same time, they listened to Ukraine's red lines. The first, and most obvious, concerns the territorial concessions imposed on Kiev. The plan stipulates that Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014), as well as Luhansk and Donetsk, will be recognized as de facto Russian. The regime in Kherson and Zaporizhia will be frozen, which will mean de facto recognition along the line of contact.

The text also mentions the creation of a neutral, demilitarized security zone in the part of the Donetsk region controlled by Ukraine, which will be internationally recognized as territory belonging to the Russian Federation but where Russian forces will not enter.

The proposed full amnesty for all parties to the conflict, including Vladimir Putin, who, according to the plan, could be reinstated in the G8, the group of major powers, is another departure for Ukrainians. It is noted that an arrest warrant has been issued for the Russian president by the International Criminal Court.

EU officials insist that since Europe is now a much larger donor than the US to the Ukraine military effort, it should not be ignored in the negotiation. Others have called the 28-point plan scandalous and said that Witkov needs a psychiatrist if he thinks he can succeed, according to Politico.

Window for negotiation

French President Emmanuel Macron, who described Trump's plan as good in the sense that it proposes peace, however, hinted that he does not intend to allow the United States to impose the aforementioned limit of 600,000 troops in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called Donald Trump late Friday, reportedly nearly choked upon reading American proposals for the use of frozen Russian assets, which European diplomats believe are being turned into a tool for speculation to the benefit of the United States.

$100 billion [€86.8 billion] of frozen Russian assets will be invested in US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine. The United States will receive 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe will add $100 billion to increase the amount of investment available for rebuilding Ukraine, the plan says, proposing to invest the rest of the frozen Russian funds in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle that would implement joint projects in specific sectors.

The Europeans also believe that the most central part of the plan is also one of the most inaccurate: Ukraine will benefit from reliable security guarantees, the text states without further details, while it excludes Kiev's accession to NATO, as well as  the presence of NATO troops on its territory.

On Tuesday, the Coalition of the Willing , a group of countries, mainly European, that support Ukraine, more than 20 of which have said they are ready to send troops to Ukraine to guarantee a possible ceasefire, provided they receive military support from the United States, is expected to meet via video conference.

The countdown is on for Europeans seeking to have the sticking points reshaped and the ambiguities rephrased. Donald Trump revived Kiev's hopes Saturday night for room for negotiation. When a reporter asked him if this plan was his final offer for Ukraine, the former real estate mogul replied: No. Not at all.

According to Washington Post sources close to the process, the US government acknowledges that the security guarantees are not yet strong enough in the 28-point peace plan presented by President Donald Trump.

Among the possible changes is the possibility of increasing or even removing the proposed limit of 600,000 troops in the Ukrainian armed forces. At the same time, in an effort to strengthen Ukraine's post-war deterrence, the provision of Tomahawk missiles is being considered, if a peace agreement is reached.

What happens if Ukraine says no?

It is unclear what will happen if Ukraine does not sign the agreement by Trump's deadline on Thursday. European officials point out, according to Politico, that the US president has often set deadlines - to Putin as well as to trading partners - that have expired without consequence.

Zelensky, in a post on Telegram, said he hopes that the meetings taking place, including the upcoming talks with the US delegation, will lead to an outcome that will bring Ukraine closer to ending the war.

We all need a positive outcome, he concluded.

Nothing will be agreed until the two presidents meet, a US official told Reuters, referring to Trump and Zelensky.

Washington could, however, cut off support for the Ukrainian military through information sharing, something Trump had done briefly in the past.