The 28-Point US-Russia Plan in the Broader U.S. Geopolitical Strategy

News:

International media report that the United States and Russia are negotiating a so-called 28-point plan to end the conflict in Ukraine. Although no final agreement has been reached, the plan reportedly includes proposals related to territorial status, security guarantees, Ukrainian neutrality, and limitations on foreign arms deliveries.

Comment:

The 28 points do not represent a peace initiative but rather a diplomatic framework through which the U.S. seeks to manage the outcome of a war it helped orchestrate. This war is the result of a deliberate strategy set in motion decades ago.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. immediately began expanding its influence in Europe and encircling Russia. NATO was systematically enlarged eastward, and in 2008 the Alliance formally declared that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually become members, something Russia understandably perceived as a direct threat.

In 2014, a U.S.-backed change of power took place in Ukraine. The pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted after Western interference, with American diplomats actively involved in shaping the new government. This coup triggered the annexation of Crimea and the armed uprising in the Donbas.

Since then, the U.S. has politically, militarily, and economically integrated Ukraine into its sphere of influence. Through arms shipments, NATO training, and reform pressure, Ukraine has been transformed into a strategic frontline state against Russia. The 2022 Russian invasion was therefore not a sudden act of aggression, but a response to years of U.S. pressure: placing Russia squarely into the trap that Washington had laid.

The U.S. pursued three primary objectives:

1 To weaken Russia through an indirect war fought on European soil.

2 To render Europe fully dependent on the U.S. for defense and energy.

3 To drive a wedge between Russia and China and disrupt their strategic partnership.
Although these goals have only been partially achieved, Washington now considers it an opportune moment to stabilize the conflict. NATO has been strengthened, Europe is more dependent than ever, and Russia has been damaged militarily and economically. The next phase is focused on China, the U.S.’s principal strategic rival.

This 28-point plan is therefore not a path to peace, but part of a familiar American pattern: provoke first, escalate next, and then rearrange the outcome diplomatically, so long as it aligns with U.S. hegemonic interests. The Ukraine conflict is just one link in that chain. With Washington now shifting focus toward Asia, the plan should be understood as an attempt to contain the Ukrainian front and avoid further escalation while preparing for broader strategic competition with China.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Okay Pala
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in The Netherlands