Donald Trump was raw and candid about what happens next in his response to Volodymyr Zelenskky who addressed his nation last night in a dramatic appeal, vowing 'never to betray my country', as he faces great pressure to accept a US plan ceding territory to invader Russia, almost four years following its violation of international law.
'If you don't want it, just keep fighting, no problem', was the jist of the message by the American President to the Ukrainian leader, who made sure to thank the White House for its initiative, but pointed out that there can be no solution that does not respect the sovereighnty and territorial integrity of his country, during a conversation with US Vice President JD Vance.
The EU was initially caught off guard, with Berlin, Paris and London apparently starting work on a counter proposal. But things moved quickly last night in frenetic backstage diplomacy following a Trump ultimatum to Zelenskyy to accept the plan by Thanskgiving, next Thursday.
German chancellor Friedrich Mertz and Trump agreed on joint next steps during a quarter of an hour phone conversation, focusing on the Ukraine US plan.
The exchange was disclosed by the chancellor himself on X.
'I just talked about the Ukraine peace plan with the US President during a productive, confidential phone conversation, agreeing on next steps'.
Mertz said he would be briefing European partners so everyone can coordinate on how things move ahead.
The plan will dominate proceedings on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg over the weekend, as the most powerful in Europe will be there. Trump won't though, as the US is boycotting the South African venue.