US President Donald Trump is awaiting a response from Kyiv regarding the recognition of Crimea as Russian and the refusal to join NATO, writes The Wall Street Journal citing sources. These proposals were outlined in a confidential document handed over to Ukrainian authorities and European allies in Paris.
The US is awaiting Kyiv's response at a meeting of American, Ukrainian, and European officials in London at the end of this week. If the American, European, and Ukrainian positions align, the proposals may be forwarded to Moscow.
A senior State Department official on Sunday described the ideas presented to the Ukrainians as options that Kyiv should weigh, rather than a "take it or leave it" offer. He said the "list of potential options" was presented "for discussion and feedback".
If the US recognizes Russia's capture of Crimea in 2014, it would overturn more than a decade of American policy pursued by both Democratic and Republican administrations. In 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who worked in the first Trump administration, condemned Russia's annexation of Crimea as a threat to the "fundamental international principle shared by democratic states: no country can change another's borders by force". The US Congress passed a law opposing the recognition of Crimea's annexation by Russia.
The ideas presented by the US in Paris also include excluding Ukraine's membership in NATO. "NATO is not being considered," said Kellogg on Saturday on Fox News.
Another US idea, according to Western officials, involves designating the area around the nuclear reactor in Zaporizhzhia as neutral, which could be under American control.
In a March conversation with Zelensky, Trump mentioned the possibility of the US acquiring Ukrainian power plants, including nuclear facilities, calling it "the best protection for this infrastructure". The Zaporizhzhia power plant, the largest in Europe, is reportedly expected to supply electricity to both Ukrainian territory and regions that Moscow captured after the 2022 invasion and remain under its control.
However, according to Western officials, the US does not propose limiting the number of Ukrainian troops and does not hinder the provision of Western military support to Kyiv or the deployment of European troops there, which is a key sticking point with Moscow. "Every sovereign country on Earth has the right to defend itself," said Rubio on Friday. "Ukraine has the right to defend itself and to enter into any agreements it wishes to on a bilateral basis with different countries and so forth".
So far, there is no decision on what security guarantees Ukraine might receive if it agrees to a peaceful settlement. The Trump administration has not indicated whether it is willing to provide any military support to European countries that send troops to Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression.
Photo: Ludovic Marin