{"text":[[{"start":15.15,"text":"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Donald Trump not to pursue a Ukraine peace deal “above Europe’s head”, as he offered to host talks with Washington on potential territorial concessions to Russia to secure a ceasefire."}],[{"start":31.03,"text":"Merz said he held a “detailed” call with the US president on Wednesday, when along with France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he stressed the importance of Europe’s involvement in talks with Russia on matters crucial to the continent’s long-term security."}],[{"start":51.56,"text":"The call came after Kyiv sent Washington the latest draft of a peace proposal including revisions drawn up by Ukrainian and European governments, said people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":64.99000000000001,"text":"Merz and Macron proposed talks on the revised plan with the US and Ukraine over the weekend, including contentious territorial concessions to Moscow that Trump’s negotiating team has backed. A possible meeting in Berlin could then follow next week, he added."}],[{"start":84.74000000000001,"text":"“This is primarily about the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make . . . a question only the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people can answer,” Merz said on Thursday."}],[{"start":99.42000000000002,"text":"He added: “I got the firm impression from this telephone conversation with President Trump yesterday that he is ready to go down this path with us, because he knows that Europeans must also be heard here.”"}],[{"start":112.72000000000001,"text":"Trump yesterday said he had “pretty strong words” and “little disputes” with the three European leaders on the call."}],[{"start":120.87000000000002,"text":"He added: “They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we’ll make a determination, depending on what they come back with.”"}],[{"start":129.15,"text":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been adamant that he cannot concede territory to Russia, arguing that he has no legal or moral right to do so."}],[{"start":139.78,"text":"Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who drew up the initial US plan with a Russian official close to President Vladimir Putin, has pushed for Ukraine to concede the eastern region of the Donbas — composed of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. That first proposal said the area would become a “demilitarised zone” officially recognised as Russian territory."}],[{"start":164.91,"text":"The matter is fraught with political and military implications for Ukraine. Insisting on a unilateral withdrawal from the area of the Donbas that Ukraine still controls and that Russia has been unable to conquer in 11 years of war is “one of the most difficult things to do”, said Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a group that procures military equipment for the Ukrainian army."}],[{"start":193.49,"text":"He said that most Ukrainians would be against handing over territory in almost any circumstance, particularly as it would be considered capitulation and likely to be “exploited by Russia inside Ukraine” to further destabilise the country even after a peace deal."}],[{"start":211.17000000000002,"text":"Visiting Berlin on Thursday, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said that talks would touch on “delicate, difficult discussions about territory”. He said they would discuss the need for post-ceasefire security guarantees for Ukraine “of such a force and a level that Putin knows if he tries again, it actually will be devastating.”"}],[{"start":234.47000000000003,"text":"European leaders are trying to regain influence over negotiations between the US and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine, from which they have largely been sidelined."}],[{"start":246.80000000000004,"text":"The European initiative follows two weeks of high-stakes diplomacy that has sought to temper US pressure on Zelenskyy to make a quick decision on a proposed deal with far-reaching implications for Europe’s security. One person familiar with the first US proposal likened it to something “scribbled on a bar napkin”."}],[{"start":268.64000000000004,"text":"Another senior Ukrainian official involved in drafting the latest versions of the peace proposal said it still had significant weaknesses, including no specific language around security guarantees."}],[{"start":281.34000000000003,"text":"Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat on Tuesday that separate documents were still being worked on that would spell out security guarantees for the country, as well as the economic framework to ensure its recovery and reconstruction."}],[{"start":297.93,"text":"Russia has also yet to give any indication that it would accept the current iteration of the US-led peace plan, which falls short of Putin’s maximalist goals for ending the war."}],[{"start":310.36,"text":"After Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin last week, the Kremlin said it wanted the US to “make serious . . . radical changes to their papers” on Ukraine, but did not elaborate on its demands."}],[{"start":323.76,"text":"Russia has given verbal backing to Trump’s efforts but quietly expressed frustration at the US focus on territory, rather than the security issues Putin has said must be resolved before any ceasefire."}],[{"start":338.09999999999997,"text":"Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Putin and Witkoff had “eliminated misconceptions and misunderstandings” at the meeting but indicated Russia wanted its demands to be more fully reflected in the plan."}],[{"start":354.99999999999994,"text":"Lavrov said Russia had given the US “additional proposals on collective security guarantees”, according to Interfax, adding that any security guarantees “could not be limited only to Ukraine”. He also indicated Russia had not dropped long-standing demands for Nato to roll back all its deployments east of the former Iron Curtain."}],[{"start":379.8399999999999,"text":"Lavrov said European proposals for the peace deal were “not useful” and claimed the continent wanted to derail attempts to agree on security guarantees."}],[{"start":391.43999999999994,"text":"“The Europeans are only talking about making the Americans give Ukraine security guarantees while ignoring all of Russia’s security interests,” he said."}],[{"start":413.3599999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1765499523_4959.mp3"}