According to reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is rejecting the peace plan previously announced by the Trump administration. Planned peace talks in London on Wednesday were also downgraded once it became clear that Zelensky was not the same page.
Last week in Paris, U.S. negotiators suggested a possible deal to help end the war. Part of the deal would mean that the U.S. officially accepts that Russia owns Crimea, a region Russia has controlled since 2014 and has long considered part of its influence.
In return, Russia would have to agree to stop fighting where the battle lines are now. Even though Russian President Vladimir Putin says that four eastern parts of Ukraine—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia—belong to Russia, his army doesn’t fully control all of them.
So, if this deal happened, Russia would have to give up some land it claims is theirs. The Financial Times says Putin might be open to the idea, but the Russian government hasn’t officially confirmed anything yet.
Breitbart reports:
Despite the Ukrainian military having failed to reclaim Crimea over the past decade, or indeed the four occupied provinces over the past three years, President Zelensky said on Tuesday evening that conceding any territory is out of the question, saying: “There is nothing to talk about – it is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people.”
Speaking from India on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the “Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own” for a deal to work. Failing that, the VP warned, the U.S. is willing to withdraw from negotiations.
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance said.
The “final offer” proposed to Kyiv and Moscow included a clause that Ukraine would not become a member of the NATO military alliance, led by the United States. However, Ukraine would be allowed to join the European Union.
The deal also offered Russia “enhanced economic cooperation with the U.S., particularly in the energy and industrial sectors,” Axios reports. Last but not least, sanctions imposed on Moscow in 2014 would be lifted.
Trump responded to Zelensky on Wednesday, posting to Truth Social, “Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
Trump continued, “The area also houses, for many years before ‘the Obama handover,’ major Russian submarine bases. It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”
He added, “The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”