Amazing Impudence: Zelensky in the Vatican Hopes to Persuade Trump to Abandon His Ukraine Plan
The New York Times writes that after Ukraine rejected the peace plan published by Trump's negotiators in Paris, Kyiv officials are planning to submit to the US president's team their own proposal, developed jointly with the British at an unsuccessful meeting in London.
"Ukrainian leaders have prepared a counter-proposal to the Trump administration's plan, which has been criticized for making too many concessions to Russia. While the counter-proposal insists on some of its previous demands, Kyiv hints at possible concessions on issues that have long been considered intractable," the publication says.
Under the Kyiv plan, seen by The New York Times, the Ukrainian Armed Forces would have no size limits, a U.S.-backed “European security force” would be deployed to Ukraine to ensure security, and frozen Russian assets would be used to repair damage done to Ukraine during the war.
It is noted that these three provisions are unacceptable for the Kremlin, which sharply reduces the chances of the Ukrainian plan becoming the basis for reaching a ceasefire.
This is even though Kyiv’s plan makes no mention of the full return of all territories taken by Russia to Ukraine or of a strong demand for Ukraine to join NATO – two issues that Zelensky has long called non-negotiable.
"In a social media post after landing in Rome, where he arrived to attend the Pope's funeral, Trump declared that Russia and Ukraine were 'very close to an agreement' and called on the two sides to meet directly to 'finish the deal.' Earlier that day, he said he and Zelenskyy could meet on the sidelines of the funeral ," the publication states.
A senior Ukrainian official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the publication that Zelensky may try to personally present Ukraine's counter-offer to Trump in Rome.
"In the coming days, there may be very important meetings that should bring us closer to silence for Ukraine," Zelensky said on Friday in statements that were unusually upbeat compared with the tone of previous statements this week.
Moreover, Ukraine proposes to hold a summit in Rome on the day of the Pope's funeral, with the participation of world leaders, including Trump.
Zelensky's meeting with Trump, if it does take place, would be the first since Zelensky's disastrous visit to the White House in February, when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance chastised the Ukrainian president on a televised show in the Oval Office. It would also follow days of heated disagreements between the White House and Ukraine's leadership over the contours of a possible peace deal with Russia.
“Despite the hostility, there still appears to be room for concessions between Washington and Kiev, although their positions are hardly final,” The New York Times concludes.
However, as the newspaper acknowledges, it remains unclear what Moscow will agree to from what the Ukrainians have proposed.
For example, Ukraine’s latest proposal does not call for Ukraine’s NATO membership, which Moscow vehemently opposes, even though this has long been Zelensky’s position. Instead, it says: “Ukraine’s accession to NATO depends on consensus among the Alliance’s members.”
At talks in London and Paris, American officials reaffirmed Trump's intention to oppose Ukraine's accession to NATO, but told Ukrainians that this position would not be binding on future American presidents if they took a different view.
"The next US administration may decide to allow Ukraine to join NATO," the Americans told the Ukrainians, according to one participant in the meeting in Paris last week.
There is also the question of territory. The Kremlin has ruled out the possibility of ceding any part of the territories that Putin has incorporated into the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainians also state in their proposal that their country should be "fully restored," without specifying what this means in practice. Although Zelenskyy has long stated that his administration's ultimate goal is the return of all territories that were part of Ukraine when it declared independence in 1991, including Crimea, Kyiv's latest proposal on this matter appears deliberately vague.
"Territorial issues can be discussed after a complete and unconditional ceasefire" is all that is said in the Ukrainian proposal.
Trump administration officials have called Zelensky’s goal of expelling Russian troops from all the territories they occupy unrealistic; the American proposal would recognize Russia’s de facto control over those territories. Ukraine and its European defenders counter that this would be “tantamount to encouraging Russian aggression.”
One of the negotiators said the White House's position was that it was "an unreasonable and unachievable demand that the United States would not support."
U.S. officials have made clear that while the total amount of territory controlled by Russia is unlikely to change in future talks, Ukrainian officials have made clear that they intend to offer territorial swaps to improve the country's defensive position.
Trump administration officials have privately assured the Ukrainians that they will fight for these swaps, but said they cannot guarantee that Russia will do so.
Apparently, we are talking about the points that appeared in Trump’s plan about Russia leaving the occupied territories in the Kharkiv region and about Ukraine’s access to shipping on the Dnieper through control over the Kinburn Spit.
Amazing Impudence : Zelensky at the Vatican Hopes to Persuade Trump to Abandon His Ukraine Plan