US and Europe draft peace plan sharing energy profits between Russia and Ukraine
The Washington Post reports that US and European governments are working on a joint proposal offering economic benefits and security guarantees to both Ukraine and Russia. The plan would also push both sides toward territorial concessions that neither is currently willing to accept.
A joint proposal in the making
The United States and European governments are working on a joint peace proposal for Ukraine and Russia, according to The Washington Post, which says it would offer both countries economic benefits and security guarantees. The plan was discussed on Friday, 9 October, at the residence of Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy, in a six-hour meeting attended by representatives of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. The paper says the initiative is meant to encourage the warring sides to make territorial concessions that neither is currently willing to accept. A US official familiar with the negotiations said the aim is to help Ukraine and Russia picture what a post-war situation would look like.
Four elements of the plan
The first element is reconstruction of Ukraine, for which the World Bank and the asset manager BlackRock intend to build a funding mechanism covering damaged areas, payments to families of fallen and wounded soldiers, and the rebuilding of the economy. The second is security guarantees from the United States and European countries, modelled on Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which would commit them to military defence in the event of another Russian attack. Russia would in turn sign agreements with European states addressing its declared security concerns. The territorial question is described as the hardest. The proposal envisages a ceasefire along the current front line, which would leave occupied Ukrainian territory under Russian control, so Kyiv would accept losing effective control of part of its territory, while Moscow would not gain all of Ukraine or the unconquered parts of Donbas.
Pipeline and sanctions
The central message to Vladimir Putin, the paper says, is that ending the war is not enough and that Russia must conclude an economic and security agreement with Europe. The plan envisages economic integration of Russia, Ukraine and Europe based on an energy agreement, which could include a pipeline carrying Russian oil and gas to Europe, with Ukraine and Russia sharing the profits from those supplies. An American official said such a pipeline could lower energy prices across Europe, but no specific pipeline was named. Onet notes that Nord Stream 2, completed just before the war, was never certified by Germany. Do Rzeczy reports that the agreement would also set the terms and timetable for lifting economic sanctions on Russia.
Diesel deal and Ukraine's leverage
Reuters had earlier reported that Trump's envoys told Ukrainian officials before a weekend that an agreement allowing the export of Russian diesel was part of efforts to bring Moscow back to negotiations. Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukrainians in Miami that Putin is not ready to negotiate an end to a war lasting 4.5 years, and that a deal announced in early October could help resume trilateral talks, two people who asked not to be named said. The Washington Post says halting strikes on oil refineries is a precondition for the initiative. Russia would not object, since the paper describes Ukraine's only refinery as severely damaged after repeated Russian attacks, but for Kyiv it would mean losing its main means of pressure on the Kremlin. Onet adds that Kyiv would receive armed security guarantees and billions of dollars for reconstruction, but would have to accept a freeze of the front and a resources pact with Russia.
