Trump gives Ukraine ultimatum peace plan with benefits for russia — Axios
The so-called "final" peace agreement that the US handed to Ukraine includes the recognition of Crimea as part of russia and the recognition of control over the occupied territories. However, the security and restoration guarantees for Ukraine are spelled out in the document extremely vaguely.
It was reported by Axios, citing sources.
"The one-page document the U.S. presented Ukrainian officials in Paris last week describes this as President Trump's "final offer." The White House insists it's ready to walk away if the parties don't make a deal soon," the report said.
According to the publication, the agreement includes significant concessions from Kyiv. In particular, the legal recognition of Crimea as russian and the de facto recognition of russian control over four Ukrainian regions. At the same time, the offer is rather vague about what Kyiv will receive.
What russia gets under Trump's proposal:
- legal recognition by the US of russian control over Crimea;
- de facto recognition of the occupation of almost the entire Luhansk Region and the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Regions;
- Ukraine's refusal to join NATO;
- lifting of sanctions against russia, which have been imposed since 2014;
- strengthening of economic cooperation with the US, in particular in the energy and industrial sectors.
What Ukraine gets:
- "security guarantees" with the participation of a special group of European and potentially non-European like-minded countries. However, it is not specified how the peacekeeping mechanism will function;
- return of occupied territories of the Kharkiv Region;
- unhindered navigation on the Dnieper River in areas where it runs along the front line.
- compensation and reconstruction assistance, but it is not specified at what cost;
- US control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which will be considered Ukrainian and will supply electricity to both Ukraine and russia.
The document also mentions a US-Ukrainian agreement on mineral extraction, which, according to Trump, is planned to be signed on Thursday.
"This plan was drafted after Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin for more than four hours last week. After the plan was presented, Putin offered to pause Russia's invasion along the current front lines as part of a potential deal," the report said.
Recall, according to the Washington Post, at a meeting in London on April 23, US representatives plan to discuss with Ukrainian and European officials a peace agreement that provides for the recognition of Crimea as russian and a ceasefire along the current front line.
At the same time, the Financial Times reported that russian leader vladimir putin was ready to abandon demands for full control over Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Regions, proposing instead to halt hostilities on the current front line. The kremlin denied this information.