Russia Rejects Donald Trump's Ukraine Peace Plan - Newsweek
Russia has rejected parts of Donald Trump's proposed Ukraine peace plan, according to comments given in an interview by Moscow's foreign minister to the state news agency Tass.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow is "not satisfied" with elements of the president-elect's peace plan that were revealed in an interview with Time magazine and other leaks, namely delaying Ukraine's ascent to NATO by 20 years and deploying a contingent of EU and U.K. peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team for comment via email outside of business hours and to the Russian government for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Russia's rejection of Trump's peace proposals is significant because it means that the incoming administration will have to revamp its strategy when it comes to negotiating peace between Kyiv and Moscow. As both sides have now rejected parts of the president-elect's proposal, in order to facilitate negotiations, Trump will have to come up with an entirely new strategy.
What To Know
Trump has previously said on numerous occasions that he would end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours" and his advisers have reportedly been coming up with a peace plan that would involve freezing all conflict at the front lines and creating a demilitarized zone.
Keith Kellogg, the president-elect's nominee to serve as special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, has said that the nearly three-year war between the two countries will be "resolved in the next few months."
During his recent interview with Time magazine Trump said that he will not abandon Kyiv and that he believes the war would not have broken out if he was president.
Russia had previously said that it was "ready to study Trump's proposals on Ukraine" but specified that "studying" did not mean "agreeing."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously rejected the idea of freezing the conflict to begin negotiations to end the war. He told the French outlet Le Parisien that Trump "knows about my desire not to rush things at the expense of Ukraine" and said that Ukraine would not give up its territories or its independence.
What People Are Saying
During his interview with Tass, Lavrov said: "Judging by numerous leaks and Donald Trump's own interview with Time magazine on December 12, he is talking about 'freezing' hostilities along the line of engagement and transferring further responsibility for confronting Russia to the Europeans."
Russia is "certainly not satisfied with the proposals made by representatives of the president-elect's team to postpone Ukraine's membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a peacekeeping contingent of 'UK and European forces' in Ukraine," Lavrov said.
In posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tymofiy Mylovanov, the president of the Kyiv School of Economics, wrote: "Everyone's fixated on securing peace in Ukraine now, but that's the wrong frame. The issue isn't about a peace deal; it's about achieving stability so that: 1. The conflict doesn't escalate or renew. 2. Ukraine can sustain itself. 3. Russia becomes less aggressive globally.
"The U.S.'s interest in this stability appears to be secondary. And this is a mistake. The President-elect has made commitments to achieve a quick peace deal. Not a durable, but quick deal. This limits room to maneuver. From my perspective, the administration's approach appears to be somewhat disconnected from ground realities, where Russia is advancing and Ukraine needs support to stop these advances. Furthermore, as long as Russia advances, it has limited incentives to agree to a peace deal."
Former Russian deputy minister of energy Vladimir Milov, who is now an opposition politician, previously told Newsweek: "There may be a Russia-Ukraine peace deal in 2025 due to several factors—pressure from the incoming Trump administration, extreme resource exhaustion on both sides of the war—but any ceasefire agreement is likely to be premature, and, therefore, fragile and prone to future collapse."
"The fundamental cause of the war—Russia's aggressive imperialistic ambition to subjugate Ukraine and eliminate its sovereignty—will not disappear after any ceasefire," he said.
What Happens Next
Trump may have to come up with a new proposal for a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine that suits the interests of both countries, although negotiations seem more difficult to broker as the war continues to escalate.