Trump expects Ukraine to respond to final peace plan today: Axios reveals its details
The United States expects Ukraine to respond to US President Donald Trump's "final offer", which includes a freeze on the front line, security guarantees for Ukraine, the US "recognition" of Crimea as part of Russia, and the lifting of sanctions against the aggressor.
This was told to the American edition Axios by sources who are directly familiar with the proposal, Censor.NET reports citing RBC-Ukraine.
The publication notes that the US expects Ukraine to respond to this proposed peace plan on 23 April.
It is also claimed that a one-page document presented by the US to Ukrainian officials in Paris last week outlines such terms as Trump's "final offer".
The White House insists that it is ready to walk away from "peace initiatives" if the parties do not reach a deal soon.
According to Axios, Trump's proposal would require serious concessions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had previously ruled out accepting Russia's occupation of Crimea and parts of four regions in the east of the country.
And although Vladimir Putin reportedly proposed "freezing" the current front line to reach a deal, he previously rejected other elements of the American plan, such as the deployment of European peacekeepers on Ukrainian territory, Western media note.
An Axios source close to the Ukrainian government said Kyiv views the proposal as heavily biased in favor of Russia.
"The proposal says very clearly what tangible gains Russia gets, but only vaguely and generally says what Ukraine is going to get," the American publication quoted the Ukrainian official as saying.
What can Russia get from Trump's proposal?
- "De jure" US recognition of Russia's control over Crimea,
- "de facto" recognition of Russia's occupation of parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions,
- a promise that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO, while the text states that Ukraine may become part of the European Union,
- lifting of sanctions against Russia imposed since 2014,
- expanding economic cooperation with the US, particularly in the energy and industrial sectors.
What does "Trump's proposal" offer Ukraine?
- "Reliable security guarantee" with the participation of a special group of European countries and potentially also non-European like-minded countries (the document is vague about how this peacekeeping operation will function and does not mention the participation of the United States, Axios notes),
- return of a small part of the Kharkiv region occupied by Russian invaders,
- unrestricted navigation along the Dnipro River, which runs along the frontline in southern Ukraine,
- compensation and reconstruction assistance - although the document does not specify where the funding will come from.
Other elements of the plan include issues related to ZNPP and subsoil
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russian troops, will be considered Ukrainian, but will be managed by the United States. At the same time, electricity from the plant will be supplied to both Ukraine and Russia, Axios reports.
The document also mentions the US-Ukraine minerals agreement, which Trump said would be signed on Thursday.
Earlier, the FT reported that Putin had proposed freezing the frontline in Ukraine at the current line to reach a peace agreement.
In turn, WP cited sources as saying that Ukrainian and European officials who will meet in London on Wednesday, 23 April, should respond to the US proposal to officially recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and freeze the front line as part of a peace deal.
