Donald Trump may call on European and British troops to ensure an 800-mile (1,200-kilometer) buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies on the current frontline as part of a plan to freeze the war between the two countries.
The Telegraph reported the plan’s potential details, citing the newly elected US president’s entourage.
The details of the plan emerged after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the West that any attempt to make peace by appeasing Russia would mean “suicide” for Europe.
Trump, who promised to initiate peace talks before taking office in January, is considering a number of plans.
Three members of Trump’s staff outlined the president-elect’s plan, which calls for freezing the current frontline and agreeing to postpone Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO for 20 years, The WSJ reported.
In exchange, the United States will supply Ukraine with weapons to deter Russia from resuming the war. The United States will not provide troops to patrol and protect the buffer zone, nor will it fund it, according to the report.
“We can offer training and other forms of support, but the driving force will be European. We are not sending American men and women to maintain peace in Ukraine. And we will not pay for it. Let the Poles, the Germans, the British, and the French do it,” a member of Trump’s team said, according to the report.
Another high-profile publication sheds light on Trump’s plans for Ukraine and Russia. Brian Lanza, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, said that the new administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine while emphasizing that it is unrealistic to expect the return of Crimea. He said this in an interview with the BBC.
Brian Lanza, a Republican strategist, said that the Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to present his version of a “realistic vision of peace.”
“And if President Zelenskyy sits down at the negotiating table and says we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he will show us that he is not serious about it,” he said.
Lanza, a political adviser to the former president since Trump’s 2016 campaign, did not mention eastern Ukraine but said that taking back Crimea from Russia is unrealistic and “not a goal of the United States.”
“When Zelenskyy says that we will stop these hostilities and that peace will come only when Crimea is returned, we have news for President Zelenskyy: Crimea is gone,” Lanza said.
“And if that’s your priority—to get Crimea back and to force American soldiers to fight to get Crimea back—then you’re on your own,” he added.
Lanza expressed his deep admiration for the Ukrainian people, characterizing them as possessing the resilience of a lion. But he said the U.S. priority is “peace and an end to the killing.”
During the election campaign, Trump made it clear that he would cut off or drastically reduce military aid to Ukraine if he won the US presidential election and returned to the White House. Trump also refused to say that he wanted Ukraine to win the war.
On Friday, former British Finance Minister George Osborne said that it would be unrealistic for the UK to continue supporting Ukraine without US support after Donald Trump comes to power in Washington.
Trump himself has never explained in detail what kind of deal he believes could end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Congratulating Trump on his electoral victory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he appreciated his commitment to the “peace through strength” approach and expressed his belief that it could help bring a just peace to Ukraine.
After the European Political Community summit, Zelenskyy said he believed that Trump wanted a quick end to the war but that it could mean territory losses for Ukraine.
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