JOHANNESBURG, Nov 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sunday that there was no need for a complete counterproposal to the US plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine war, though several issues need further discussion.

"I don't think the issue is working on a complete counterproposal. There are many points that are acceptable in the plan we're reading," Meloni told a press conference at a G20 summit in Johannesburg.

"It makes more sense to work on the existing proposal and focus on the truly crucial issues", she said.

Meloni's comments came as top US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva for talks on President Donald Trump's controversial 28-point plan for ending the nearly four-year conflict.

Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan.

Kyiv and many of its European allies want changes to a draft that accepts a range of Russia's hardline demands, including requiring the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.

Meloni, who spoke earlier Sunday with Trump, said the talks were at "a very delicate stage" and were a "test of maturity" for Europe, which "cannot simply say 'yes everything's fine' or 'no it's all bad'".

"There are some points in the American plan that certainly need to be discussed: the question of territories, the question of reconstruction funding, the question of the Ukrainian army.

"There are also many points that I consider particularly positive, especially regarding security guarantees".

The US plan was drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies, but Meloni said it needed Europe to work.

"A part of this plan needs Europe in order to be implemented, and this concerns the issue of security guarantees, the issue of reconstruction, the issue of Ukraine's accession to the European Union," she said.

Meloni said she had urged Trump during their telephone conversation "to understand if we can obtain at least a temporary ceasefire on the strategic infrastructure" being bombed by Russia in Ukraine.

"The Russians also need to give some concrete signal that they actually want to achieve peace", she said.