JOHANNESBURG, November 23. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that he doubts that accord on the US peace plan for Ukraine could be achieved by November 27.
"I don’t mean to say that I am pessimistic, but currently I am not sure that a solution President [of the US Donald] Trump wants can be reached within days," he told a news conference after the Group of Twenty summit in Johannesburg.
"We are very far from that [reaching a deal by November 27]. But this doesn’t mean that its completely ruled out," he said, pointing to the differences between the parties to the talks.
Trump said earlier that Ukraine must accept his peace plan by November 27. On Saturday, he said that this plan is not the final offer to the Kiev government. If Zelensky refuses to accept his plan, according to Trump, "he can continue to fight his little heart out."
According to the US-proposed 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 A demilitarized zone will be created, and Ukrainian troops will be withdrawn from areas therein.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.