Starmer, Merz and Macron confirm full support for Ukraine after call with Zelenskyy about US plan – Europe live

A spokesperson for the German chancellor, Fredrich Merz, has just confirmed that Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and UK’s Keir Starmer spoke with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, earlier this morning.

The readout, published in German, said the leaders confirmed their “unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace.”

The leaders also “welcomed the US efforts to end the war in Ukraine,” including proposals to confirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and provide “robust” security guarantees, and intend to “coordinate closely” further on this.

But they also noted that they will “continue pursuing the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term,” stressing that the current line of contact should serve “as the starting point” for any territorial discussion.

But, crucially, they also noted that any peace agreement “affecting European states, the European Union, or Nato requires the approval of European partners or a consensus among the allies.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Ukraine should enter negotiations on ending the war “now” or face the prospect of losing more territory.

“The effective work of the Russian armed forces should convince Zelensky: it is better to negotiate and do it now rather than later,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, as quoted by AFP.

“The space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost during offensive actions by the Russian army,” he added.

Curiously, he claimed that Moscow had not officially received the US plan.

Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk said in a social media post that “all negotiations should be conducted with Ukraine’s participation.”

He said:

“Poles will make decisions concerning Poland; nothing about us without us. In the matter of peace, all negotations should be conducted with Ukraine’s participation.”

in Kyiv

Some of the phrases in the US’s “peace proposal” for Ukraine appear to have been originally written in Russian. In several places the language would work in Russian but seems distinctly odd in English.

The third point of the 28-point plan reads: “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries and Nato will not expand further.”

“It is expected” is a clunky passive construction in English. The Russian version – ожидается or ozhidayetsya – makes more sense and is a familiar verb form.

Other Russianisms that appear to have crept into the text include неоднозначности (ambiguities) and “закрепить” (to enshrine).

The White House has acknowledged Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin’s envoy, wrote the proposal together with Donald Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff. The pair hammered out the text during a meeting in Miami.

Ukraine and its European partners were excluded from the drafting process.

German Bild tabloid is also reporting that Merz is expected to hold a phone call not only with Zelenskyy, but also with the US president, Donald Trump.

Mind you: there’s been no official confirmation yet.

Bloomberg (£) is reporting that a number of European leaders – including UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz – are expected to join an urgent call with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at noon European time to discuss the US-Russian proposal for ending the war.

Separately, Reuters also confirmed that Merz pulled out from a planned event to clear his schedule and join the call.

A further meeting is expected on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa on Saturday, Bloomberg said.

I will keep an eye for more on this.

Meanwhile, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul told journalists that the 28-point proposal on Ukraine was “not a real plan” with so many details still needing further work.

“From my point of view, it is not a real plan, but simply a list of topics,” Johann Wadephul told journalists in Brussels, in comments reported by AFP.

“I believe it is the task of the negotiating parties to define this.”

He then added that “we want to ensure that Ukraine can discuss these points from a strong negotiating position.”

“It will be Ukraine that decides what compromises it makes, just as Russia will have to make such decisions for its part.”

Unsurprisingly, the questions focus on Ukraine, however.

European Council president António Costa openly admits that the EU has not been told about the US plan, so “it makes no sense to comment” on it.

But von der Leyen goes a bit further – and more diplomatically – as she says that the EU have been working with Zelenskyy and the Coalition of the Willing towards “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine.

“As you said yesterday, a 28 point plan was made public. We will discuss the situation both with European leaders and with leaders here on the sidelines of the G20.”

She also says she will “reach out to President Zelenskyy to discuss the matter.”

She adds that the key principle remains “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has backed the US proposal, saying that Trump’s initiative “has gained new momentum,” and using this to repeat his longstanding criticism of the EU’s policy towards Ukraine.

A close Trump ally, who met with him in and out of office, Orbán heaped praise on the US president’s plan for Ukraine.

“The American President is a persistent maverick. If he had been President at the time, the war would never have broken out. It is clear that once he sets his mind on something, he does not let it go, and he has certainly set his mind on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war,” he said in a post on X.

Orbán, who repeatedly criticised the EU and maintained relationship with Moscow throughout the war, contrasted Trump’s position on the war with that of the European Union, accusing the EU leaders of “losing the plot once again.”

“While Washington is negotiating peace, the President of the Commission is busy figuring out how to secure even more money for Ukraine and for financing the war. We Hungarians will have a word or two to say about this. The moment of truth is upon us. More precisely, it is upon the Brusselian leadership,” he said.

Separately, Orbán said in a radio interview that the coming weeks will be key for a controversial US proposal to stop the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

“This peace plan includes propositions on which the Russians and the Americans have already held preliminary discussions,” Orban said in a radio interview, reported by AFP. “I think we’re at a decisive moment, the next two or three weeks will be crucial.”

Luke Harding in Kyiv and Andrew Roth in Washington

The cautious response from Ukraine’s presidential administration followed angry denouncements of the plan by some Ukrainian officials who called it “absurd” and unacceptable.

But American diplomats said Donald Trump was trying to achieve peace “with an incredible sense of momentum”.

His administration was pursuing an “aggressive timeline” with the Ukrainians to reach an agreement, they added, and wanted to achieve this in the “shortest possible” period.

The White House said the plan was “good” for both sides, rejecting concerns that it echoes many of Moscow’s demands.

Officials in Kyiv were unimpressed. They said the proposal – reportedly drafted by Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff – was a “provocation”, the aim of which was to stir up division and “disorientate” Ukraine’s allies, they added.

In his nightly video last night, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a bit of insight into his thinking about the deal, as he said:

“The American side presented its proposals: the points of a plan to end the war, their vision.

From the first days of the war, we upheld one very simple position: Ukraine needs peace. A real peace, one that will not by broken by a third invasion. A dignified peace, with terms that respect our independence, our sovereignty, and the dignity of the Ukrainian people. And it is exactly such terms that we must secure.

I outlined our key principles, and we agreed that our teams will work on these proposals.”

Zelenskyy also said that he’s in close contact with Finland’s Alexander Stubb – who is one of the best connected European leaders in the US, and plays a key role behind the scenes – as well as France’s Emmanuel Macron.

He also confirmed he expected to speak with Trump “in the coming days.”

EU leaders are scrambling to respond to the US-led proposal for ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, amid signs that the US president, Donald Trump, and his administration want to progress the deal to an “aggressive timeline”.

But a number of points in the draft deal appear to violate Ukraine’s longstanding red lines, and clash with the EU’s and European Nato member’s interests.

EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, repeated in the last few minutes at the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum that “for any peace plan to work, it has to be with Ukraine and with the Europeans on board”.

She said:

“We are four years into Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, with no real signs that Moscow wants peace.

If Russia really wanted peace, it would have accepted the unconditional ceasefire that has been on the table since March this year.”

But she added:

“We are supportive of any plan that brings about just and lasting peace.”

The key question for many in Europe for the coming days will be: is giving in to most of Russia’s demands under the US plan really moving us towards “just and lasting” peace?

I will bring you all the key reactions here.

It’s Friday, 21 November 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.