The United States is prepared to recognize Russian control over the Crimean Peninsula and other occupied Ukrainian territories in order to secure an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, the British “Telegraph” writes today.
The British Telegraph has learned that Donald Trump sent his peace envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to directly offer this to Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The plan to recognize the territory, which violates American diplomatic conventions, is likely to proceed despite concerns among Ukraine’s European allies.
A well-informed source said: “It is increasingly clear that the Americans do not care about the European position. They say the Europeans can do whatever they want.”
A well-informed source said: “It is increasingly clear that the Americans do not care about the European position. They say the Europeans can do whatever they want.”
Donald Trump’s peace plan, point 21
Territories:
Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk will be recognized as de facto Russian, recognized by the United States.
Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be frozen along the line of contact, which will mean de facto recognition along the line of contact.
Russia will relinquish other agreed-upon territories it controls outside of the five regions.
Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the part of the Donetsk region they currently control, and this withdrawal zone will be considered a neutral demilitarized buffer zone, internationally recognized as territory belonging to the Russian Federation. Russian forces will not enter this demilitarized zone.
On Thursday, the Russian president stated that legal recognition of Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as Russian territory by Washington will be one of the key issues in negotiations over the peace plan of the American president.
The Kremlin said on Friday that it had received a revised strategy to end the war, drawn up after urgent talks between Ukrainian and American officials in Geneva, Switzerland, last weekend.
The original 28-point peace plan, formulated by Steve Witkoff after talks with Russian officials, offered American “de facto” recognition of Crimea and the two eastern Donbas regions.
The strategy also proposed “de facto” recognition of the territory held by Russia behind the line of contact in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine after any ceasefire agreement.
In Geneva, Ukrainian and American officials negotiated a new 19-point plan, which is less favorable to Moscow. But several sources suggested that the American recognition offers remained part of the strategy.
Kyiv would not be forced to recognize Russian control over territories annexed since 2014. The Ukrainian constitution prevents any president or government from ceding territory without first submitting the matter to voters in a national referendum.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, and Rustem Umerov, his national security adviser, were expected to travel to Florida this weekend to meet with American officials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
In a new interview for The Atlantic, Yermak, who negotiated the latest peace plan, said: “No normal person today would sign a document giving up territory.”
“As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign the giving away of territory. The constitution forbids it. Nobody can do that, unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people.”
The latest proposal leaves blank spaces for the most contentious issues, including eventual final territorial concessions, which will be filled only after in-person talks between Zelensky and Trump.
Ukrainian president Zelensky has not yet said when he will travel to Washington or Florida to meet with his American counterpart.
The apparent offer of recognition by Washington has raised concerns among its European allies, who have repeatedly rejected the possibility of supporting a peace deal that allows borders to be redrawn by force.
After a meeting of the coalition of the willing on Wednesday, its leaders said: “They were clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. This remains one of the fundamental principles for maintaining stability and peace in Europe and beyond.”
The European counterproposal to the original 28-point plan did not include a recommendation to recognize Russian control over Ukrainian territory.
“Territorial issues will be considered and resolved after a complete and unconditional ceasefire,” it proposed.
So far, the US and Europe have refused to recognize Russian control over Crimea, the peninsula Putin annexed in 2014. This would mark a breach of diplomatic convention by Washington, as it would grant legitimacy over stolen territory, which benefits the aggressor state.
In a new national security strategy document released by the Kremlin, Putin promises to integrate the occupied areas of Ukraine into the Russian system within a decade. Moscow announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in September 2022, despite never fully capturing the Ukrainian territories.
The Kremlin’s continued pressure to take control of the regions shows that Putin has not once considered concessions to end nearly four years of brutal conflict in Ukraine.
The latest revelations will also heighten fears in Europe that Washington will impose on Kyiv a suboptimal agreement to end the war.
Recently leaked phone calls showed how Mr. Trump’s chief negotiator, Mr. Witkoff, was coaching Russian officials on how to appeal to the White House. The leaked conversations with Russian negotiators involved the need for Ukraine to give up Donetsk. Open-source intelligence experts suggested that some European agency may have uncovered this information to expose the close link between the presidential aide and the Kremlin.
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