Kiev’s Western supporters – the US, UK, and EU – have allegedly sidelined Ukraine while trying to thrash out a peace plan for the country, CNN reported on Friday.
According to the US media outlet, citing “multiple sources familiar with the talks,” officials from Washington, London and Brussels “have in recent weeks been meeting regularly” in a bid to come up with a viable ceasefire and peace settlement framework for Ukraine. However, CNN pointed out that Kiev itself is conspicuously absent from the alleged talks, despite the Biden administration professing to adhere to a “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” principle.
Among the plans reportedly discussed by Kiev’s supporters was the framework proposed by Italy in late May, the outlet claimed.
First unveiled by the Italian media, the four-point plan calls for a ceasefire and the demilitarization of the front line in eastern Ukraine, with Ukraine then possibly becoming a neutral state. The third phase would include an agreement between Moscow and Kiev on the status of Crimea and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. It all would be crowned by a multilateral accord on peace and security in Europe, focusing on disarmament and arms control.
The supposed plan has, however, been dismissed by both the Ukrainian and Russian leaderships.