Kyiv [Ukraine], November 22: The United States has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine to press it into agreeing to the framework of a U.S.-brokered peace deal, two people familiar with the matter said.
Washington has presented Ukraine with a 28-point plan, which endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that Kyiv cede additional territory, curb the size of its military and be barred from joining NATO.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kyiv was under greater pressure from Washington than during any previous peace discussions, and that the U.S. wanted Ukraine to sign a framework of the deal by next Thursday.
A delegation of senior U.S. military officials met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss a path to peace.
The U.S. ambassador in Ukraine and the army public affairs chief travelling with the delegation described the meeting as a success and said Washington sought an "aggressive timeline" for the signature of a document between the U.S. and Ukraine.
EUROPE SAYS IT HAS TWO-POINT PLAN
European leaders, who were not consulted on the 28-point plan presented on Thursday to Ukraine, expressed their strong support for Kyiv. Britain's Keir Starmer, Germany's Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron held a joint phone call with Zelenskiy.
Europe's own plan consisted of just two points, said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas: weaken Russia and support Ukraine.
U.S. officials, defending their plan, have said it was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, a close Zelenskiy ally who served as defence minister until July.
"This plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of President Zelenskiy's administration, Rustem Umerov, who agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskiy," a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
But Umerov said on Friday he had not discussed the plan's terms, much less approved them.
"During my visit to the United States, my role was technical - organizing meetings and preparing the dialogue. I provided no assessments or, even more so, approvals of any points. This is not within my authority and does not correspond to the procedure," he wrote on Telegram.
After meeting a visiting U.S. delegation on Friday, Umerov said Kyiv would not accept a plan that violates its sovereignty.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
