Russia has sunk Donald Trump’s hope that a peace deal in Ukraine can be achieved by Thanksgiving after the Kremlin said Europe’s counterproposal was not constructive and did not work for Moscow.
In a sign that both sides remain far apart, the Kremlin said that Europe’s demands for Ukraine would not be accepted by Vladimir Putin but said that an earlier proposal by the US seemed “quite acceptable to us”.
Trump claimed on Monday that progress was being made in peace talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian officials. Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement that they were working to narrow the gaps in the 28-point peace plan revealed by the US last week.
The US president had given Ukraine until Thanksgiving, this Thursday, to agree to the plan – but US officials later indicated the deadline could change.
Some EU leaders met to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of an EU-African Union summit in Luanda on Monday, with others dialling in via video conference.
