Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end the war on Russia in Ukraine - if he wins the presidential election – in which it is intended to tell Ukraine that it will receive more American weapons only if it starts peace talks, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
At the same time, the US will warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate will lead to an increase in its support for Kiev, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, one of Trump's national security advisers, said in an interview.
p>Under the plan drawn up by Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, who served on the White House National Security Council during Trump's 2017-2021 presidency, there would be a ceasefire during the peace talks based on the battle lines at the time. The two have presented their strategy to Trump, and the former US president has responded positively to it, Fleitz said. "I'm not saying he agreed with it or agreed with every word it said, but we were pleased with the feedback we got," he said.
Trump spokesman Steven Chun, however, said only statements made by Trump or authorized members of his campaign staff should be considered his official position. The strategy outlined by Kellogg and Fleitz is the most detailed plan yet developed by aides to Trump, who has said he could quickly find a resolution to the war in Ukraine if he defeats President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, even though he is not discussed concrete steps, notes Reuters.
The proposal would mark a major shift in the US stance on the war and would face opposition from European allies as well as from Trump's own Republican Party, according to Reuters. The Kremlin said any peace plan proposed by a possible future Trump administration would have to reflect the reality on the ground, but that Russian President Vladimir Putin remained open to negotiations. "The value of any plan lies in the nuances and in taking into account the real state of affairs on the ground," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.
The key elements of the plan are available in a document published by the America First Policy Institute. (America First Policy Institute), a Trump-friendly think tank in which Kellogg and Fleitz hold leadership positions. Kellogg said it will be critical to quickly bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table if Trump wins the election.
"We are telling the Ukrainians: "You have to sit at the table, if you don't come to the table, the support from the United States will stop,'' he says. "And to Putin: "He must come to the table, and if he doesn't, then we will give the Ukrainians everything they need to kill you on the spot."
According to the research paper published by Kellogg and Fleitz, Moscow will also be brought to the negotiating table with the promise of delaying Ukraine's NATO membership for a longer period of time. Fleitz said there is no need for Ukraine to formally cede territory to Russia under their plan. However, he said Ukraine was unlikely to regain effective control over all of its territory in the near future.
"Our concern is that this has become a war of attrition that will destroy a whole generation of young men," he said. Achieving lasting peace in Ukraine will require additional security guarantees, Kellogg and Fleitz said. Fleitz added that it is likely that "arming Ukraine to the teeth" to be a key element of this. "President Trump has repeatedly stated that a top priority in his second term will be to quickly negotiate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine," Chun said. "The war between Russia and Ukraine would never have happened if Donald Trump was president," his spokesman added.