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“The Americans believe everything that Putin says,” Estonian MEP Riho Terras (EPP) told Euronews’ Europe Today morning show in Strasbourg.
In his view, the 28-point peace plan promoted by the US administration is “a Russian plan to make Ukraine capitulate,” and US President Donald Trump is “just a week from taking from Putin everything.”
“I am very surprised that Donald Trump runs like an errand boy for Putin’s capitulation plan,” Terras said.
Last week, a leaked text of a peace settlement seen as too favourable to Moscow sparked concerns among Europeans.
The plan which has been redrafted but not finalised called for a reduction of the Ukrainian army, sweeping territorial concessions, and the imposition of a NATO membership veto on Kyiv, among other conditions seen as akin to capitulation.
Representatives of the US government led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ukrainian officials and a European delegation met on Sunday in Geneva to discuss amendments to the plan. Europeans hope their input will buy Kyiv time and sway Trump in their direction.
On Wednesday, speaking from Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the “Russian playbook” of aggression has not changed, and Ukraine could be just the start.
To help Kyiv, which will require additional funding next year, the Europeans are debating issuing an unprecedented reparations loan pegged to the Russian frozen assets held in Belgium.
Sources told Euronews the Commission is preparing further legal work to ensure the proposal can get the green light from the Belgian authorities, as the country holds the assets. The document could be published as early as Thursday.
There is growing frustration with the Belgians’ lack of progress.
In reaction, MEP Terras said: “We are already too late, we have to start the financing very quickly”.
“Don’t tell me that the EU, with a population of 500 million and a GDP of €29 trillion, is not able to support Ukraine with a much smaller amount.”
According to Terras, “European people do not understand the urgency of the situation. It is not only about Ukraine.”
