US plan for Ukraine needs 'additional work': Western leaders

Johannesburg: The unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine "is a basis which will require additional work", Western leaders gathered in South Africa for a G20 summit said Saturday.

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

The text was signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Norway, and of the European Union, as well as the prime ministers of Canada and Japan.

It was issued after an urgent meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg in response to the US plan being pushed by President Donald Trump, who boycotted the South African gathering.

The leaders said they "welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine" and believed the 28-point US plan "includes important elements" towards that goal.

"We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work," the statement said.

It stressed that "the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to NATO would need the consent of EU and NATO members respectively".

They added: "We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable."