Ukrainian ambassador on 28-point peace plan and security guarantees

WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA) - Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine Ambassador to the U.S., spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the 28-point peace plan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country is facing a choice between losing its dignity or losing the United States as a key ally.

This prompted Brennan and ask Stefanishyna what has been agreed to at this point as diplomacy is happening in Geneva Sunday, and Stefanishyna said:

"The consultation are still ongoing between Ukraine and the American officials. This is Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio, and also Secretary of Army [Dan] Driscoll, who arrived a little bit earlier. These consultations are still continue on the basis of the proposal of the American side on 28-point peace plan, as it's been called here. And European allies are also present in Geneva these days to work hand in hand with the Ukrainian delegation, but also with the American delegation to discuss the proposals on our and on their side. So the consultations are still ongoing, but there has been a number of points which have been already widely discussed in public."

Brennan followed up by asking if Stefanishyna is aware of Russia making any concessions at this point, and Stefanishyna said:

"it does not seem this way from the proposal which is on the table. In fact, none of the points are actually related to forcing anything on the Russian side. Of course, it's recognized that it is aggression. There is a number of points related to return of hostages and prisoners of war, of a humanitarian nation. But this is definitely not about the justice. This plan is not about the justice and the truth of this war and the aggression. It's about, you know, ending the war and stopping the military engagement."

Brennan then asked if Stefanishyna has been told of the U.S. cutting off military and intelligence sharing if President Zelenskyy doesn't agree to the plan later this week, and Stefanishyna responded saying:

"I think it's totally unfair to American colleagues and partners to quote this or that statements which were done in course of, you know, various meetings and phone calls. There was quite a few, you know, we had a first senior military visit to Ukraine by Secretary of Army Driscoll since we gained the independence in 1991. And I had a meeting with him as well here in Washington. And his role is extremely clear to us. We also had an engagement between president and vice president on a phone call. There was, like, a lot of discussions. Some of them were more emotional. Some [of] them were less emotional, but here we are. We are sitting together and looking for a solution to end the war, and Russia is not part of this process formally."

During the interview, Brennan and Stefanishyna talked about the Wall Street Journal's report of a separate document regarding security guarantees, with the Journal reporting that it's 10 years of support, but said, "it doesn't commit the U.S. to provide direct military assistance."

When asked what guarantees does Ukraine want from the U.S., Stefanishyna said:

"There is a separate document called the framework, like of the security assurances from the United States. So this is not the agreement. This is not the treaty. This is not the formal or detailed layout of what security guarantees is. That is the like document specifying the intention that U.S. government is committed to providing security assurances, which are like something like the Article 5 of the Washington NATO Treaty. So it's still very different, and it specifies it's been in a public access so it's been publicly leaked as well, so, that U.S. will stand up together with the allies, in case of the Russian aggression from the territory of the Russian Federation. I think we should not forget that the Russian aggression started, in fact, from Belarusian territory. So they're, like, a lot of nuances, and this is to be discussed."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Stefanishyna, click here.