Berlin voices doubt over US plan for Ukraine

BERLIN: Germany´s defence minister on Sunday said Ukraine should not cede all territory occupied by Russia in a peace deal proposed by Donald Trump, as the US president pressures Moscow and Kyiv to end fighting.

“Ukraine has, of course, known for some time that a sustainable, credible ceasefire or peace agreement may involve territorial concessions,” Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the broadcaster ARD. “But these will certainly not go... as far as they do in the latest proposal from the US president,” Pistorius said.

The United States has not revealed details of its peace plan, but has suggested freezing the front line and accepting Russian control of Crimea in exchange for peace. The Axios news website, citing a US plan presented to Ukrainian officials, said that Washington could offer “de facto” recognition of Russia´s occupation in Ukraine´s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.