Speaking to "Välisilm", Vseviov said that authorship of the 28-point peace plan from the U.S. is hard to verify. "This 28-point text has not appealed to us from the very beginning. It needs to be rewritten, because it reflects what we have known Russia to want," Vseviov said.

The official stressed that Russia's objective is to turn Ukraine's and Europe's security upside down, something Moscow has not backed away from. "Once we read those 28 points, we could see three kinds of problems. First, creating a backdoor for Russia into the discussion of Europe's security architecture, which in our view is out of the question. Second, the absolute hollowness of Ukraine's security guarantees, and third, that achieving peace puts burdens only on the victim, imposing none on the aggressor — that is ridiculous," Vseviov went on.

Following worrying signals reached Europe, EU countries have started coordinating their positions and working to make the text more acceptable to them. "I am glad that when the Ukraine — U.S. talks ended in Geneva, both sides acknowledged that the common goal is a just and lasting peace — in precisely those words," he added, referring to talks involving U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Vseviov called to mind the fact that Estonia has consistently emphasized a just and lasting peace, while now this has been stated as the shared goal of the U.S. as well as Ukraine. At the same time, he noted that since the content of the text of this agreement has not been published, one cannot yet breathe a sigh of relief.

As to the question of whether this represented a diplomatic catastrophe, Vseviov replied: "It is certainly a considerable mess, I don't know who it could benefit — we all have our suspicions — but if you also look at the statements from Russian spokespeople, then from the initial, completely undisguised elation, it has as of now turned into some sort of schizophrenic twitching, where hypothetical European plans are getting rejected. It seems to me that colleagues in Moscow are somewhat bewildered and confused."

A just and lasting peace must be achieved by applying pressure on the aggressor and supporting the victim, and the confusion that has emerged does not help to maintain that pressure, Vseviov added.

Europe has also put forward its own peace plan proposal. Show host Johannes Tralla asked whether the White House has shared Europe's positions or whether something is being agreed behind the EU's back. "Even speaking theoretically, it is only possible to agree behind our backs on things that do not require our participation," Vseviov said to that. Today, Europe has a clearer view than anyone else – both on supporting Ukraine and applying pressure on the aggressor, Vseviov added.

Vseviov stressed that only a plan which that has received the official approval of Eu member states can be referred to as a European plan. "Europe is a collection of democracies, and it is not possible here to foist a 21st-century Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in the silence of a cabinet room. That would immediately come to light," he said. The 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany included secret protocols for establishing Soviet and German spheres of influence across Central and Eastern Europe, with Estonia to fall in the Soviet sphere.

In Vseviov's view, the presentation of the U.S. peace plan and the corruption scandal that has erupted in Ukraine have been influencing each other. "When a government is weaker, it is also weaker in making concessions. So if it might be in someone's interests for a scandal-hit government to give in more easily, it may paradoxically produce the opposite result."

Once the current confusion subsides, pressure on Russia must be increased, Vseviov said, so that their hope that time is working in their favor disappears.

A European counter-proposal to the U.S. plan, also over 28 points, has been seen by Reuters and subsequently appeared in the media. Significant changes include those to point 8, on NATO troops in Ukraine. In the European version this has been expanded to "NATO agrees not to permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime." Point 10 on U.S. guarantees is also significantly different, while point 21 on territories, which in the European version states "Ukraine commits not to recover its occupied sovereign territory through military means. Negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact," has been amended a lot. The U.S. version had required Ukraine to cede even territory which is not currently occupied by Russia.

The U.S. had called for Ukraine to agree to the original 28-point plan by Thanksgiving, which falls on Thursday.

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