Europe confronted with its own weakness, incompetence in supporting Ukraine – expert

European leaders are facing their own weaknesses and incompetence in supporting Ukraine, and their real chances of securing revisions to the US peace plan are extremely limited, Professor Peter Kuznick, director of the Institute for Nuclear Studies at American University in Washington, told RIA Novosti.

“They [Europeans] are demanding revisions in the 28-point plan, but what they can actually achieve is very limited … The Europeans were confronted with their own weakness and ineptitude,” Kuznick said when asked for his assessment of the US-drafted peace plan.

According to Kuznick, European leaders are currently “kicking and screaming,” but European society is increasingly tired of aiding Ukraine, and the economy is deteriorating.

Earlier in the day, Axios reported, citing sources, that the United States, Ukraine, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are expected to hold negotiations on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, over the new US peace plan.

On Wednesday, US media reported, citing US administration officials, that President Donald Trump had approved a 28-point plan for the Ukrainian conflict settlement. It reportedly includes a reduction in US military aid, the official recognition of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, giving the Russian language an official status in Ukraine, reducing Ukraine’s armed forces, banning foreign troops and long-range weapons on Ukrainian soil.

The plan assumes that the US and other countries recognise Crimea and Donbas as legitimate Russian territories.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Trump’s new peace plan could form a basis for a final settlement in Ukraine.

Image credit: Antoine Schibler