Canada joins world leaders saying Trump’s plan to end war in Ukraine needs 'additional work'

undercoat government minister deutsche mark Carney, on with sir thomas more than a dozen world leaders meeting in South Africa, issued a joint statement on Saturday saying U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine needs more work.

The world leaders met on the edges of the G20 summit in Johannesburg to talk about Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that his country is facing “one of the most difficult moments in its history."

Zelenskyy is facing a deadline imposed by Trump to take or leave his plan to end the war that’s viewed as favouring Russia.

"We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force," the leaders' joint statement said. "We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine's armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack."

Trump’s 28-point plan plan calls on Kyiv to cede territory, accept limits on the the size of its military, and renounce ambitions to join NATO — all long-standing Kremlin demands. The plan also contains some proposals Russia may dislike, including pulling back its military from some areas it's captured in Ukraine, according to a draft of the plan viewed by Reuters.

Zelenskyy delivered a video address to the nation on Friday saying Trump’s latest move is putting “intense” pressure on his country.

“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points or an extremely harsh winter,” Zelenskyy said.

Canada, the European Council and the European Commission, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Finland, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands and Ireland were all at the meeting and said they're ready to engage in order to ensure "a future peace is sustainable."

Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw, who is attending the G20, told Canadian media that Trump's plan can't go ahead as is.

"It's a disaster for Ukraine," said Bociurkiw, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. "If any Ukrainian leader were to sign up for even a part of this so-called plan, it would be the end of Ukraine as we know it. Game over for a sovereign Ukraine."

Carney is also holding bilateral meetings with the leaders of France, Norway, the European Union, Germany and the U.K. On Saturday in Johannesburg, according to a senior Canadian official.

All of these countries are part of the Coalition of the Willing — a group of more than 30 nations that have promised to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression. 

Carney met one on one with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday and discussed working with allies to reach “just and lasting peace in Ukraine," the Prime Minister's Office said.

“The Prime Minister and President reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine and underscored that any settlement must include Ukraine’s involvement, respect Ukraine’s core interests, and provide security guarantees,” the office said in a statement.

The G20's host, South Africa, is tightly controlling media at the summit. Organizers are not allowing foreign media to film bilateral meetings between world leaders. That meant Canadian media’s video cameras were not permitted to capture footage of any part of Carney’s meeting with Macron.

It's unusual and rare for an international summit like the G20 to not allow foreign media to access other countries' bilateral meetings to film video footage.

On Friday, Trump said he's confident his plan is a way of getting peace and suggested Zelenskyy could take it or leave it.

“He’ll have to like it. And if he doesn’t like it, then they should just keep fighting, I guess, ” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a security council briefing that the U.S proposal could “form the basis of a final peace settlement”. He said he was in a position to “show the flexibility” that he agreed on at an August meeting with Trump in Alaska. 

But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a founding leader, of the Coalition of the Willing, said that Moscow hasn’t been following through with its promises.

“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but their actions never live up to their words,” Karmer wrote in a statement ahead of the G20's working sessions that started Saturday.

Starmer said Russia is the only country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire and “is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians.”

Russia has hit Ukraine with 1,000 drones and more than 50 guided missiles injuring citizens, Starmer's statement said.

Trump is boycotting this year's G20 and won't send any American officials for talks. He called it a “total disgrace” that South Africa is hosting.

The U.S. President continues to allege South Africa is persecuting white farmers — a claim widely disputed, including by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The summit's sessions are underway without Trump, and South Africa has released a leader's declaration that includes reaffirming a commitment that members will act within international law.

Senior reporter

---

---