Budrys on US "peace plan": "There is no need to pressure Ukraine. Russia is one that must be pressured"

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has called on the United States to harden its stance on Russia amid the Trump administration's push for a plan to end the war against Ukraine.

This was announced by LRT, as reported by Censor.NET.

Budrys emphasised that the diplomatic steps taken in recent days once again demonstrate the need to clearly define the consequences if Russia fails to meet the agreed deadlines. "We can set deadlines, but it is very important to stick to them and to spell out what happens if they are not met," he said.

According to him, if Moscow ignores this, sanctions or other measures of influence should be applied. "There is no need to pressure Ukraine here; Russia is the one that must be pressured," the minister stressed.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister also expressed hope that the US would harden its stance towards the Kremlin as the plan moved forward, and noted the strength and flexibility of the Ukrainian negotiating team. "I would very much like to see that from Russia’s side," Budrys added.

What preceded this?

On Sunday, 23 November, negotiations between Ukrainian and US delegations began in Geneva on a peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
Earlier it was reported that the Ukrainian delegation had already held meetings with EU advisers in Geneva.
Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the first results of the negotiations taking place in Geneva with the participation of delegations from the US, Ukraine, the EU and the UK on the American plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov reported that the current version of the US peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine is in the final stages of approval and already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities.
Following the talks in Geneva on Sunday, 23 November, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Washington team would make "some changes" to the American peace plan.
The new US peace plan for resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war was reduced from 28 points to 19.
On 25 November, Trump sent his special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to meet with Putin. He instructed his other special envoy, Dan Driscoll, to hold talks with Ukraine in Kyiv.