Path to Peace in Ukraine: Diplomatic Developments and Uncertainties Ahead

Thu Nov 27 2025 08:28:33 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Recent diplomatic efforts involving Donald Trump and President Zelensky have reignited hope for peace in Ukraine, yet challenges remain amidst mixed responses from Russia and Europe.

The quest for peace in Ukraine has seen renewed vigor following intense diplomatic discussions led by Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky. While both leaders express optimism, the response from Russia remains uncertain, hinting at the complexities involved. With a controversial 28-point U.S. peace plan emerging and various European proposals countering it, the future remains in a delicate balance as key issues such as security guarantees and territorial integrity are yet to be resolved.

Are we any closer to peace in Ukraine?

After a frantic, often confusing few days of diplomacy, Donald Trump seems to think so.

We're getting very close to a deal, he told reporters on Tuesday.

For his part, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who had looked and sounded grim over the weekend, said there were now many prospects that can make the path to peace real.

There are significant results, he said, after reviewing the results of Sunday's key discussions in Geneva, and there is still much work to be done.

But from the Russians, apart from some discontented mutterings about European involvement and unauthorized leaks, the response has been somewhat muted.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that Moscow viewed some elements of the latest draft positively but many require special discussions among experts.

Separately, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was premature to think that a deal was close.

Last Wednesday already seems like aeons ago. That is when a leaked draft of a 28-point US plan to end the war first emerged. The plan, whose references to Ukraine giving up territory and limiting the size of its military led some to describe it as a Russian wish list, caused consternation in Kyiv and sent European diplomats scrambling to limit the perceived damage.

By the weekend, the Europeans had drafted a counter-proposal, also 28 points long, which replaced the blunt territorial concessions of the US plan with negotiations on territorial swaps and stiffened the language on security guarantees, a key concern of Kyiv.

A joint US-Ukrainian statement after the talks praised the highly productive discussions, stating any future agreement must deliver a sustainable and just peace. Ukrainian officials sounded relieved, saying the updated plan had been slimmed down and contentious issues postponed for future resolutions.

Moving forward, significant questions linger over the effectiveness of proposed security guarantees, as well as the guarantees for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, post-agreement. While optimism pervades some discussions, experts caution that the journey to peace is fraught with unknowns, with unresolved factors likely to influence the next steps of diplomatic engagement.