This information was received during a closed meeting held in Kyiv on Friday night, where US Army Minister Dan Driscoll briefed the ambassadors, following talks he held with Zelensky and a direct call with the White House.
According to a source who attended the meeting, Driscoll stated: “There is no perfect agreement, but it must be done sooner rather than later.”
An atmosphere of anxiety and resentment prevailed at the meeting, as a number of European ambassadors expressed their dissatisfaction with the United States’ management of negotiations with Russia without full consultation with allies.
One source described the meeting as “disastrous,” adding that the phrase “you have no negotiating cards” was repeated again, referring to previous statements by US President Donald Trump regarding Zelensky’s position.
Washington’s announcement of the plan surprised European capitals, which were unaware of its details, amid fears that Moscow may have exerted significant influence in drafting the draft presented to Kyiv as a ready-made agreement.
Driscoll defended the American approach, saying: “Trump wants peace now. The more participants, the more complicated the path.”
The US Chargé d’Affaires in Kyiv, Julie Davis, who attended the meeting, confirmed that “the terms of the agreement are already harsh,” but she stressed that the alternatives available to Ukraine are worse, adding: “From this point, the agreement will not improve, but will only get worse.”
In response to a question about why Kyiv is being asked to give up lands that Moscow has failed to control for 11 years, an American official said that the agreement is “beneficial to Ukraine,” pointing to the possibility of Trump and Zelensky signing a joint document “for the sake of peace.”
The proposed agreement includes controversial clauses, most notably Ukraine’s ceding of territories occupied by Russia and others that are still under Kyiv’s control, in addition to a proposed amnesty that includes all war crimes committed during the conflict.
Reports indicate that the plan was drafted by Trump’s aide Steve Witkoff in cooperation with Kremlin advisor Kirill Dmitriev through a back channel between the two sides, and Driscoll is expected to travel to Moscow soon to discuss the plan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that his country had received a copy of the agreement, considering that “the plan could be the basis for a final peaceful settlement.”
In parallel, the head of the Ukrainian National Security Council, Rustem Umerov, announced that Kyiv will soon hold talks in Switzerland with the United States to discuss Trump’s plan to end the war. He said in a post on “Facebook”: “In the coming days, we will launch consultations in Switzerland between senior Ukrainian and American officials on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed a decree on Saturday ordering the formation of the Ukrainian delegation tasked with talks with Washington and Moscow.
