CNN presents US plan to finally end hostilities in Ukraine
The US plan to bring a permanent end to the fighting includes Washington’s recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea–the southern Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed more than a decade ago–and would grant Russia additional Ukrainian territory occupied since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to officials familiar with the plan, CNN writes, referring to officials familiar with the matter.
As noted, Trump has been frustrated that his efforts to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv after three years of war have so far fallen short, and the White House has since mounted an increasingly urgent push to strike a deal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the coming week would be “very critical” in determining whether the US can continue trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting President Donald Trump’s deadline for reaching a deal was swiftly approaching.
“We’re close, but we’re not close enough,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He added that Moscow and Kyiv were closer than ever to striking an agreement, but still tempered expectations for a breakthrough.
Rubio later spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about “consolidating” preconditions for negotiations, according to the foreign ministry in Moscow, which described the call as a “productive exchange of views.”
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is ready to enter peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions. He said there needed to be signals from Ukraine in order for direct negotiations to resume.
The last direct negotiations on ending the conflict were in the spring of 2022. Putin said on April 21 he was open to the possibility of bilateral talks with Ukraine, as pressure from the US builds on both sides to agree to a quick peace deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday conceded that Ukraine lacks the military might needed to retake Crimea by force but has long made it clear that making territorial concessions is a red line. Recognizing Crimea as Russian would also be illegal under Ukraine’s constitution.
Following Trump and Zelensky’s remarkable face-to-face meeting at the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, the US president said they briefly discussed the issue of Crimea and that he believes Zelensky “wants to make a deal.”
Trump also criticized Putin in some of his strongest comments against the Russian leader to date. “I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life.”
