Ukraine's allies push back on U.S. peace plan seen as favoring Moscow

The leaders of France, Germany and the UK met during the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss ways to support Kyiv, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “An end to the war can only be achieved with the unconditional consent of Ukraine,” Merz said during G20 summit briefing, adding that he had told Trump in a long phone call on Friday that Europe needed to be a part of any peace process, and that Russia had previously failed to keep its promises to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. Nine officials are to take part in the talks, including Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak and top envoy Rustem Umerov, according to a statement posted on the Ukrainian presidency’s website, which also stated that the negotiators are empowered to deal directly with Russia.