"The plan that Witkoff proposed expects Europe to pay for all the pleasure. Including the reconstruction of Ukraine, from which Trump hopes to make big profits. This money must come from the Europeans. It seems that Europe is once again being viewed as a dog - a piggy bank that has no real political role."
This opinion was expressed to the Bulgarian National Radio by Vesela Cherneva, deputy director of the European Council on Foreign Policy.
Ukraine cannot be isolated. We will see active diplomatic efforts in the coming days, she pointed out. According to her, alternative European proposals to the Witkoff-Dmitriev plan can be expected.
Putin does not want to participate in negotiations. We are talking about a proposal that satisfies Russian demands, and the other side - Ukraine and its allies - must agree and accept the proposal, Cherneva pointed out. She emphasized the role of Ukraine's security guarantees, which "are somehow out of the question", namely whether the agreement will be durable and prevent another war depends on them.
"Security guarantees cannot be just a political contract. They must have a serious military mechanism to stand behind them. Both Witkoff and Trump are betting on generalities, but when you get into the details, it may turn out that the proposal is not at all acceptable, as it seems to Moscow at the moment, comments Vesela Cherneva. It is high time everyone realized that the transatlantic alliance does not exist in the political imagination of the current American administration, the deputy director of the European Security and Defence Policy Office believes. The security of Europe is not Donald Trump's first priority. We do not need to talk so much about a rupture as about realism, about a correct assessment of the possibilities that Europe has. The reparation loan is the fastest and most painless way to raise funds. The second is to draw down a European loan, and the third - allocation of funds from the budgets of the member states. The reparations loan seems to be "the cheapest", as it uses Russia's frozen assets as a guarantee, Cherneva explained.
On the program "Saturday 150", Vesela Cherneva noted that the attacks on Zelensky come from several sides and made a prediction:
"The outcome of these negotiations will not be optimal, but if there is a chance for a ceasefire and for negotiating a peace that is lasting, such a type of peace may be possible in the coming weeks, but it will require courage and concessions."