BRUSSELS, November 24. /TASS/. European officials and diplomats believe that the plan of the E3 countries (the UK, Germany, and France) to settle the Ukrainian conflict is irrelevant, Politico reported.
According to the newspaper, EU representatives "declined to endorse" the 28-provision plan proposed by London, Berlin, and Paris. One of Politico’s sources said that the document is "already outdated."
On November 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Geneva that he had never seen a "counterplan" from the Europeans. "What counterplan? I haven’t seen any counterplan," the top US diplomat stated.
Earlier, Reuters published a plan to settle the Ukrainian conflict, prepared by the E3 countries in response to a similar plan by the US. Notably, the plan allowed for Ukraine's admission to NATO and the deployment of NATO troops on the country's territory under national command.
On November 23, meetings were held in Switzerland between the Ukrainian delegation, European partners, and the US delegation to discuss steps to end the conflict. Earlier, Reuters reported, citing a US official, that representatives of Washington and Kiev planned to finalize the details of the American draft plan for settling the conflict during the Geneva negotiations.
US plan
According to details of the US plan leaked to the Western media, the US and other countries will recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, Donbass, and other territories Ukraine will cede. In return, Kiev will receive American and European security guarantees. A demilitarized zone will be created in the areas from which Ukrainian troops will withdraw. According to Axios, the line of contact between the parties in the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions will be frozen, and Russia will return some areas to Ukraine. The Ukrainian armed forces will be significantly reduced and stripped of long-range weapons. Deployment of foreign troops in the country will be prohibited, and Russian will become the official language. In turn, Bloomberg reported that the new US plan also provides for the lifting of sanctions against Russia.