Details of a potential Trump peace plan for Ukraine have been revealed, according to a Tuesday Reuters report, which could be formally unveiled if he wins the November 5th presidential election. The plan centers on giving an ultimatum to Ukraine - that it will only receive more American weapons and defense aid if it agrees to enter peace talks with Moscow.
The proposal has been presented to Trump by advisers on his national security team, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, and Fred Fleitz. Both men had served as chiefs of staff Trump's National Security Council during his first term in office. A key 'controversial' part of the plan is to freeze battle lines where they are during the progression of peace talks, something which is likely to be unpopular among Ukrainian and NATO officials.
While the Zelensky government could face the withholding of badly needed Washington aid, Moscow would simultaneously be warned that the US would increase its support for Ukraine if Putin refuses to enter the negotiations. However, this point presents a possible incentive for both sides to simply keep refusing talks (and each side could simply keep blaming the other for lack of dialogue).
Fleitz told Reuters that so far there's been a favorable reaction after Trump was briefed on the plan:
They have presented their strategy to Trump, and the Republican presidential candidate responded favorably, Fleitz added. "I'm not claiming he agreed with it or agreed with every word of it, but we were pleased to get the feedback we did," he said.
...The strategy outlined by Kellogg and Fleitz is the most detailed plan yet by associates of Trump, who has said he could quickly settle the war in Ukraine if he beats President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, though he has not said how he would do that.
The Trump campaign noted that nothing is official until it is issued from a designated campaign spokesperson.
The Biden White House has repeatedly said that the ball is entirely in Kiev's court. Only Ukrainian leadership can decide the when and where of ceasefire talks. Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not contemplate sitting at the table with Moscow representatives so long as Putin is in power. Tens of billions continue flowing into Kiev's coffers from Western backers.
Zelensky's office has already reacted negatively to news of the potential Trump peace plan, with presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak saying Tuesday that freezing current battle lines would be "strange" given that Russia is the invader and illegal occupier of Ukraine territory.
"Ukraine has an absolutely clear understanding and it is spelled out in the peace formula proposed by President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy, it is clearly stated there - peace can only be fair and peace can only be based on international law," he said to Reuters. Zelensky's 10-point plan centers on Russian troops withdrawing from all Ukrainian territory before there can be peace. Putin has at the same time vowed to never give up the four annexed eastern territories which have since last year been declared absorbed into the Russian Federation.
Last year Zelensky in a CNN interview posed the following: "We’re not ready [to give up territory to Russia]. But the question for Trump – or to someone else, maybe it’s not his idea – is ‘is the United States ready to give up territory after Putin has said he would use nuclear weapons?"
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has reacted somewhat positively. "The value of any plan lies in the nuances and in taking into account the real state of affairs on the ground," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response. "President Putin has repeatedly said that Russia has been and remains open to negotiations, taking into account the real state of affairs on the ground," he said.
Back in April, Zelensky issued his own conditions in a Meet the Press appearance:
It appears the Trump campaign is fully aware of the general war weariness that long ago took hold of the American public and even much of Europe. Trump has previously vowed to kick-start negotiations 'within 24 hours' if he enters the White House again. He has accused Biden and his policy of simply fueling an endless war. According to more fresh statements from team Trump:
Fleitz said Ukraine need not formally cede territory to Russia under their plan. Still, he said, Ukraine was unlikely to regain effective control of all its territory in the near term.
"Our concern is that this has become a war of attrition that's going to kill a whole generation of young men," he said.
A lasting peace in Ukraine would require additional security guarantees for Ukraine, Kellogg and Fleitz said. Fleitz added that "arming Ukraine to the teeth" was likely to be a key element of that.
"President Trump has repeatedly stated that a top priority in his second term will be to quickly negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war," Trump spokesperson Cheung said.
To be expected, the White House and the Biden campaign are already charging Trump with an unwillingness to 'stand up' to Putin. This will also likely be used as another talking point to claim that Trump is playing softball with Putin as he's somehow 'compromised' (cue Russiagate etc...)
And yet, for there to ever be peace, significant concessions will have to be made, something which the Biden administration has utterly failed in. Instead it has only continued to escalate with policies like greenlighting strikes inside Russian territory using American weapons.