BERLIN, November 21. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has become the first European leader to call US President Donald Trump and discuss the new American plan for Ukraine, Bild reported quoting official representative of the German cabinet Stefan Kornelius.

"It was a confidential and thorough phone conversation," he said. "Further steps were agreed with Trump at the level of advisers. Merz will now inform European partners about the content of the conversation."

According to NTV, European leaders will discuss the US initiative on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend. Earlier, the Bild newspaper citing sources reported that the Merz government is extremely concerned about the new US plan for Ukraine and is already working on diplomatic countermeasures. Germany allegedly seeks to persuade Kiev not to succumb to pressure from Washington. Berlin also plans to influence the American administration by promoting the EU's position on the settlement of the conflict.

According to the plan, which was leaked to the Western media, the United States and other countries will have to recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, Donbass and other territories that Ukraine will have to give up. In return, Kiev will receive American and European security guarantees. A demilitarized zone will be created, and Ukrainian troops will be withdrawn from areas therein.

The Axios portal quoted an American official as saying that the line of contact between the nations in the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions will be frozen, and Russia will have to return some areas to Ukraine. The Ukrainian army will be significantly reduced and will lose long-range weapons. The deployment of foreign troops will be banned, and Russian will have to become an official state language. Bloomberg reported that the new US plan also provides for the lifting of sanctions against Russia.