Donald Trump's negotiating window a few hours before the consultations in Switzerland. The 28-point plan is the basis for discussion, additional processing is required, European leaders said at the G20 Summit

All eyes are on Geneva, Switzerland, where Ukrainians and Western officials will meet on Sunday to discuss Trump's plan to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

Among others, the head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, the US president's diplomatic envoy and one of the main authors of the US's 28-point plan for a ceasefire, will be in the Swiss city, according to reports.

Britain, which is also focused on the Geneva meeting, expressed hope that there will be progress in talks on the peace plan, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed. I think the focus now is very much on Geneva and whether we can make progress, he told reporters at a G20 meeting in South Africa.

He added that he expects to speak with US President Donald Trump in the coming days and that he was going to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky .

Trump himself seemed to fuel hope for improvements to the plan, emphasizing on Saturday night that the 28-point plan is not his final proposal for peace in Ukraine.

New stage in dialogue amid concerns

Ukraine is approaching this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This is a new stage in the dialogue that has been underway in recent days and is aimed primarily at harmonizing with our vision for the next steps, Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian Security Council, had earlier reported via Facebook.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Saturday to form a delegation for talks with Washington and Moscow. According to the decree, the delegation will be led by his right-hand man, his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and will include, among others, Rustem Umerov, the heads of the security and intelligence services and the Chief of the General Staff. This is essentially a military delegation.

On Friday, the Ukrainian president rejected the American plan and assured that he will try to propose alternative solutions to Washington.

The plan is being viewed with concern in Kiev because it incorporates several key Russian demands, including territorial concessions from Ukraine and a reduction in the size of its army.

Kiev's concerns were reiterated in a joint statement today, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, which Trump is boycotting, by 11 Western leaders, including France, Germany, and Britain. The draft proposals are a basis that will require additional work, they said.

There is a chance to end this war, but we are far from a good common solution, said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz from Johannesburg.

Fears about the political impact in Europe

Merz also said he made it clear to Trump that Europe must be part of any process to end the war in Ukraine during a long phone call they had on Friday night.

If Ukraine loses this war and possibly collapses, there will be an impact on the European political situation as a whole, on the entire European continent. And that is precisely why we are so committed to this issue, Merz stressed. I made this position clear to him (Trump), he noted.

US Vice President J.D. Vance insisted for his part that the idea of a Ukrainian victory achieved through more money, more weapons or more US sanctions is a fantasy.

A US official told AFP that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who met with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiev on Thursday, had already arrived in Geneva on Saturday.

Without papers in Kyiv

According to The Guardian, Driscoll, a close aide to J.D. Vance, who is handling the Ukraine issue, briefed NATO ambassadors at a meeting in Kiev on Friday night, following talks with the Ukrainian president and a phone call with the White House.

No agreement is perfect, but it must be reached as soon as possible, he stressed to them.

It was a nightmare meeting. It was the same old ‘you have no cards to play’ rhetoric, said one participant, referring to Trump’s claim that Zelensky had no cards to play during a heated meeting at the White House in February.

Dan Driscoll defended Trump's approach, explaining that it made the process more manageable. President Trump wants peace now, he noted.

Julie Davis, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Kiev, was also present and explained to the other diplomats that, while the terms of the deal are harsh on Ukraine, it either accepts them or risks suffering worse in the future. The deal will not improve, it will get worse, she added.

Kiev is heavily dependent on deliveries of advanced American-made weapons, including air defense systems to repel Russian air attacks, as well as intelligence provided by Washington.

Putin confirmed on Friday that Moscow had received the American plan. He added that Moscow is willing to show flexibility – but is also ready to continue the war.

In recent months, Russian troops have been slowly advancing into the southeastern region of Ukraine – despite reported heavy casualties in the fighting.

The improvements that Europeans want

At this difficult moment for Ukraine, given that it is called upon to negotiate on the basis of a plan that satisfies many of Russia's initial demands, Europe will be called upon to choose which battles to fight, in cooperation with Kiev.

The plan was not negotiated with the Europeans, Macron stressed, then outlined the points where Kiev's European allies will likely seek improvements.

In detail, it was mentioned:

• on the frozen assets which, as he said, are held by the Europeans.
• on the European integration of Ukraine which he emphasized is in the hands of the Europeans and
• on NATO which, as he said, depends on the members of NATO.

So there are many things that cannot be just an American proposal, they require broader consultation, he added.

A German government source said that a European draft peace proposal, based on the American proposal, was sent to Ukraine and the US administration.

The Europeans have made it clear that they seek to reform and strengthen the American plan in favor of Ukraine, but the room for maneuver to influence the terms of the plan is limited by the risk of causing a historic transatlantic rupture, analysts point out.