The United States expects Ukraine this week to respond to its proposals for ending the war. In particular, on not joining NATO and the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The proposals were outlined in a classified document that senior officials of US President Donald Trump’s administration submitted to the Ukrainian side in Paris on Thursday, Western officials said. They were shown also to European officials during a one-day meeting.

The US is now awaiting Kyiv's response, which is expected at a meeting between US, Ukrainian, and European officials in London later this week. If the positions of the three sides coincide, the proposals could be submitted to Moscow.

The proposals submitted by the US in Paris included several aspects: Among them are: the exclusion of Ukraine from NATO membership, and the declaration of the area around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant as a neutral zone—and which could be under Washington's control.

But, according to Western officials, the proposals made by the Trump team do not meet a number of Russian demands. In particular, the US does not recognize that Russia has the legal right to control four regions of eastern Ukraine (Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions). Also, Washington does not demand that Russian troops withdraw from these territories. Bloomberg earlier wrote that the US will consider the possibility of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

Acceptance of some of the Trump administration's proposals may be difficult for Ukraine, as it has refused to recognize that Russia has legitimate claims to any of its territory, adds The Wall Street Journal.

Also, the US does not propose to limit the number of Ukrainian troops and does not rule out Western military support for Kyiv, or the deployment of European troops in the country.