White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has issued an update on the reported new 28-point plan to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and a group of top generals on Thursday (November 20) to discuss a framework to put an end to the bloodshed.

Ms Leavitt has since discussed the peace talks with reporters in Washington, saying it’s a “good plan for both Russia and Ukraine”. She added that it “should be acceptable to both sides” as work is ongoing to get it completed. Ms Leavitt said: “Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio have been working on a plan quietly for about the last month. They’ve been engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace.”

The press secretary also confirmed that Dan Driscoll met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. She said he remains “optimistic” as conversations continue with both Kyiv and Moscow.

She explained: “We spoke with him, he’s very optimistic following that meeting. We’re having good conversations with both sides with respect to ending this war.”

The Gaza-style peace plan reportedly calls for Ukraine to make major territorial concessions to Russia, something Kyiv had previously said was unacceptable. It also drops demands for a peacekeeping force to stop future Russian attacks.

However, European officials have reportedly pushed back against the proposal. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Europe wants peace rather than a “Ukrainian capitulation”.

He told reporters: “We don’t want to see a Ukrainian capitulation, and one can well imagine that the Ukrainians, who have resisted in a heroic way against a brutal Russian invasion for more than three years now, will refuse, in any form, a capitulation.”

European allies have long opposed peace plans which include Ukraine surrendering land to Russia. They also oppose a cap on the size of Ukraine’s military and the amount of long-range weapons they receive.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, added: “We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim, and we haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side.”

European officials said they hadn’t been involved in drafting the plan. They added it wasn’t clear whether they will get further information from Washington soon.