LONDON, November 25. /TASS/. The European Union can no longer fully rely on the United States, even if substantial revisions are made to the US plan for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, a foreign policy expert for the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parliamentary group, Norbert Rottgen said.
"The experience of recent times demonstrates that we as Europeans cannot depend on the US. Such a situation has been unprecedented since the conclusion of the Second World War <...>. We are now living in a new world," the politician told the Financial Times.
Rottgen also observed that a sense of "shock" has prevailed in Berlin since the details of US President Donald Trump's Ukraine plan emerged.
About the Ukrainian crisis settlement plan
On November 23, the US and Ukraine held consultations concerning Washington's 28-point "peace plan." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the meeting as "the most productive" since the inception of the conflict. Ukrainian media outlets reported that Washington and Kiev succeeded in reaching an agreement on the majority of the plan's provisions. As Rubio indicated, the US consented to separate the matters of Ukraine’s European integration and NATO membership into a distinct negotiating track. The Washington Post later revealed that the number of points in the plan was reduced to 19 following these consultations.
Reports in Western media suggest that the initial version of the US plan included provisions for Ukraine to renounce its pursuit of NATO membership, coupled with a commitment from the alliance not to integrate Kiev. The proposal also reportedly involved US and international recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and Donbass, the withdrawal of Ukrainian military units from the territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the formal adoption of Russian as an official language in Ukraine, a cap on the size of the Ukrainian army, and the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions. European Union leaders have voiced their disagreement with several of these points and announced the launch of work on counterproposals.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia continues to be open to negotiations regarding a settlement for Ukraine, although no specific details concerning such contacts with the US have been provided thus far. No talks between Moscow and Washington are scheduled for this week. Russia has not yet received the official text of the revised US plan following the US-Ukraine consultations in Geneva.