Costa, von der Leyen call peace talks in Geneva significant progress

Costa announced this at a press conference following an informal EU leaders' summit on peace in Ukraine held in Luanda, Angola, on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

"We just concluded a meeting of the 27 European leaders with the president of the European Commission and we took stock of the latest developments regarding efforts to achieve peace for Ukraine. There is a new momentum in the peace negotiations. Yesterday's meeting in Geneva between the United States, Ukraine, the European Union institutions, and European representatives marked significant progress," Costa said.

According to him, the U.S. and Ukraine reported that the discussions were constructive and that progress had been achieved on several issues.

"We welcome this step forward. And some issues remain to be resolved, but the direction is positive. And we commend the efforts of Presidents Zelensky and Trump and their teams. It is also clear that the issues that concern directly the European Union such as sanctions, enlargement or immobilized assets require a full involvement in decisions by the European Union," he noted.

"What matters now is that we move forward as partners, united by our shared goal: stop this war, stop killing people, and stop this war of aggression against Ukraine and ensure a just, lasting peace for Ukrainian people," he said.

Costa assured that the EU intends to continue providing President Zelensky with all necessary support – diplomatic, military, and economic.

"This concerns, in particular, financial support to Ukraine. As you remember we committed to deliver on it in October. And we will, at the December European Council...peace cannot be a temporary truce, it must be a lasting solution. Ukraine has chosen Europe, and Europe will stand by Ukraine," Costa emphasized.

For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the Geneva talks a solid basis for further steps toward resolving the war in Ukraine. She also emphasized the need "to remain united and keep placing Ukraine's best interests at the center of our efforts."

"This is about the security of our entire continent – now and in the future... These are our core European principles moving forward: Ukraine's territory and sovereignty must be respected, only Ukraine, as a sovereign country, can make decisions regarding its armed forces," von der Leyen said following the informal EU leaders' summit in Angola.

She also noted that she once again raised the issue of the fate of Ukrainian children missing or abducted by Russia: "Each and every one of them must come home."

As reported by Ukrinform, earlier U.S. media circulated information that the Trump administration held secret consultations with Russians to develop a new plan to end the war in Ukraine.

According to Axios, this plan consists of 28 points and is divided into four broad categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and the future relations of the U.S. with Russia and Ukraine. In particular, according to media reports, Ukraine is expected to give up the Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donbas, reduce its army, and relinquish a significant portion of its weapons. The plan provides that the handover of the remaining Donbas territory would occur in exchange for U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv and Europe, though the mechanism is not clearly defined.

American lawmakers said that during a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said that the U.S. peace plan was a Russian wish list rather than a genuine Washington proposal. Rubio, however, denied this, stressing that the peace proposal was developed by the U.S.

Ukraine and the United States, following negotiations between the two countries' delegations in Geneva, agreed to continue working on joint proposals for a peace agreement. Both sides recognized the consultations as extremely productive. They confirmed that any future agreement must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty and ensure a durable and just peace. As a result of the talks, the sides prepared an updated and revised framework document on peace.

Photo: Flickr