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A U.S. proposal to end the war in Ukraine has opened some disagreement with key European allies, with Paris, Berlin and Helsinki signaling they will not be sidelined during talks in Geneva.
A senior European diplomat told Fox News Digital that Europe would not accept a U.S.-driven agreement without full European involvement. “No negotiations about Ukraine without Ukrainians. No negotiations about Europe’s security without Europeans,” the diplomat said.
Some of the European concerns came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the U.S. and Ukraine made “substantial” headway on an “updated and refined peace framework.” He called it “the most productive day we have had,” acknowledged unresolved issues, and said matters involving the EU and NATO would proceed on a “separate track.” Negotiators from the U.S., Ukraine and major European states are expected to continue discussions throughout the week.
US AND RUSSIA DRAFT PEACE PLAN FOR UKRAINE REQUIRING MAJOR CONCESSIONS FROM KYIV
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, address the media after closed-door talks at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. (Emma Farge/Reuters)
The European official called the American plan “a basis that requires further work,” adding that “the first of these conditions must be the implementation of a ceasefire along the line of contact.” According to the diplomat, France and the United Kingdom will convene a Coalition of Volunteers meeting on Tuesday to coordinate Europe’s position.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa on the weekend that Europe cannot be cut out of any settlement. “Wars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected,” he said, adding, “We are still quite a way from a good outcome for everyone.”
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll sit before closed-door talks with Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak (not pictured) on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Emma Farge
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed those concerns on the sidelines the summit, saying the U.S. plan “has not been negotiated with the Europeans,” even though it contains “many provisions that concern Europeans directly.” He pointed to proposed limits on Ukraine’s military capacity, calling them “limitations on the size of the Ukrainian army — in other words, on its own sovereignty.”
“It is positive in the sense that it proposes a path to peace and acknowledges important elements regarding sovereignty, security guarantees, and other issues. But it is only a basis for work that needs to resume, just as we did last summer, because this plan has not been negotiated with the Europeans,” Macron told reporters.
TRUMP, ZELENSKYY AGREE ON CRUCIAL ASPECT TO END UKRAINE WAR: ‘GOOD COMPROMISE’
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and and other members of the U.S. delegation, and Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and other members of the Ukrainian delegation sit before closed-door talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Emma Farge (REUTERS/Emma Farge )
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb wrote on X on Monday that NATO will assert control over issues in their remit: “It is clear that Europe and NATO decide on matters concerning them.”
Amid the friction, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told “Fox & Friends” on Monday the U.S. effort still contained constructive elements, saying “some elements had to be changed, but there was also good stuff in the plan.” In the interview, Rutte told Brian Kilmeade that President Trump’s team is “working extremely hard to get this war solved,” with the goal of “a durable and lasting peace in Ukraine, a sovereign nation.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by US President Donald Trump (L) upon arrival at the White House West Wing in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025. President Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the United States would “work on the provisions of the plan” and are ready for “constructive, honest and swift work.” (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynoldes / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images))
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reinforced Kyiv’s red lines in an address to Sweden’s parliament on Monday, “The aggressor must pay fully for the war he started,” rejecting territorial concessions. “Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen… That is the main problem,” Zelenskyy said.
Moscow dismissed emerging European ideas as “not constructive,” according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov according to Reuters.