Donald Trump's advisers are offering a variety of proposals, both publicly and privately, in hopes of ending the war in Ukraine. These are based on finding a solution by ceding a large part of Ukraine to Russian control. This information came out after talking to some people close to Trump. This news was revealed in a report published on Wednesday (December 4) by the British news agency Reuters.
A Reuters analysis said there were some similarities in the proposals of three key advisers, including retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's new envoy for Russia-Ukraine affairs. One of them is the proposal to exclude Ukraine's accession to NATO.
In addition, advisers plan to press Moscow and Kiev for a diplomatic solution. They have also offered to threaten to cut off military aid to Kiev if they do not agree to talks and to threaten Putin to increase aid to Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would resolve the nearly three-year-old conflict within 24 hours of his January 20 inauguration. However, he has not yet given a glimpse of the plan.
However, due to the complexities behind the conflict, it will be very difficult for Trump to keep this promise, analysts and former national security officials believe. But the advisors' statements offer some glimpses of Trump's possible peace plan.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, beleaguered by a military crisis and disoriented by regular territorial losses, has softened the tone on the talks. While still committed to NATO membership, he recently said that a way to diplomatically reclaim some of the occupied parts of Ukraine should be found.
But according to analysts and former US officials, Putin has no real reason to agree to negotiate. Because he can get more opportunities to attack Ukraine, which is already in a weak position.
Eugene Rumer, a former top US intelligence analyst on Russia, said Putin is in no rush. He also gave no indication of flexibility or backing down from terms such as giving up Ukraine's dream of NATO membership and handing over four occupied provinces to Russia.
Rumer also thinks that Putin will gradually seize more territory and wait to see how Trump reacts.
In a report published in May, Reuters reported that Putin was ready to negotiate a ceasefire if he recognized the currently militarily occupied border. However, they have no problem continuing the war if Kiev and the West do not support it.
Russia already has full control of Crimea, which it unilaterally seized in 2014. In addition, the Kremlin now controls about 80 percent of Donbas, over 70 percent of Zaporizhia and Kherson, and parts of Mykolayiv and Kharkiv.
