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On Tuesday the Financial Times reported that unnamed sources told them the U.S. set a condition for Ukraine to receive security guarantees from Washington – cede territory to Russia in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.
“The Trump administration has indicated to Ukraine that U.S. security guarantees are contingent on Kyiv first agreeing a peace deal that would likely involve ceding the Donbas region to Russia, according to eight people familiar with talks,” the Financial Times said Tuesday. “Washington has also suggested it would promise Ukraine more weaponry to bolster its peacetime army if — as the price of peace with Russia — it agreed to withdraw its forces from the parts of the eastern region it controls, two of the people said.”
The White House however rejected this claim, stating that the Financial Times is allowing malicious actors to lie under the protection of anonymity.
“This is totally false — the U.S.’s only role in the peacemaking process is to bring both sides together to make a deal,” deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said. “It’s a shame that the Financial Times is letting malicious actors lie anonymously in order to muck up the peace process, which is in a great place after this weekend’s historic trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi.”
Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky met with President Donald Trump on December 28 to discuss his peace plan.
While Trump reported that progress was made, several key issues remained, namely the Dictator’s refusal to give up any land to end the war. Meanwhile, Zelensky continues to discuss the need of security guarantees.
Washington may be attempting to bridge these desires with a compromise.
“Following Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy [sic] in Washington last month, U.S. officials said the offer of American security guarantees ‘will not be on the table forever’, without elaborating,” the Financial Times said Tuesday.
If true, it does appear that both Washington and Kiev are refusing to be the first to budge, making the situation a diplomatic stalemate.
“Ukraine wants to confirm the U.S. security guarantees before it gives up any land. The U.S., however, believes Kyiv must give up the Donbas for the war to end and is doing little to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin to abandon one of his most hardline — and persistent — demands, the people said,” the Financial Times said Tuesday.
Zelensky attended Davos this month where he progressed his quest for security guarantees. According to the Financial Times:
A person familiar with the U.S. position said Washington was “not trying to force any territorial concessions upon Ukraine”. “The U.S. has said that security guarantees depend on both sides agreeing to a peace deal, but the contents of the peace deal are up to Russia and Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy [sic] on Friday said he and Trump had “finalised” bilateral U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees while in Davos. The matter of territory remained undecided as Kyiv entered the first three-way talks with Washington and Moscow held at the weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Zelenskyy’s [sic] presidential office did not respond to a request for comment. But the senior official in Kyiv said the Americans “use the guarantees . . . to push Ukraine” towards concessions they believe can get “Russia to the table”.
In an interview with Reuters on January 14 President Trump said Ukraine’s Dictator is responsible for stalling peace negotiations, not Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said of the Putin. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”
The reporter asked the President who exactly he thinks is stalling the peace process, to which Trump said “Zelensky.”
Earlier in January Trump told The New York Times that he believes both Ukraine and Russia want to make a deal, so there is a very real possibility a give-and-take is being negotiated for a settlement acceptable to both parties.
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