Donald Trump’s team has developed three possible plans to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a report from Reuters. These proposals involve Ukraine making significant concessions, such as giving up some of its territory to Russia and abandoning its goal of joining NATO.
The report explains that Trump’s advisers have drafted different versions of the plan. One proposal was created by retired Army Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, who is expected to be Trump’s envoy for Russia-Ukraine matters. The second plan was authored by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and the third by Richard Grenell, who previously served as Trump’s acting intelligence chief.
All three plans share a common theme: encouraging both Russia and Ukraine to negotiate by using a mix of incentives and penalties, often described as a “carrots and sticks” approach. The idea is that the United States would stop sending military aid to Ukraine Zelensky refuses to enter peace talks. On the other hand, if Vladimir Putin runs away from negotiations, the US would send more weapons to Ukraine.
So far, Trump has not formed a central working group to finalise a single, unified peace plan, according to four anonymous advisers. These advisers believe that any successful deal would likely depend on Trump directly negotiating with both Putin and Zelensky.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has claimed that he could end the conflict within 24 hours if re-elected, though he has not provided details on how he would accomplish this.
Interestingly, Zelensky, who had previously refused to consider giving up an inch of land, has recently shown more flexibility. In a recent interview, he suggested that Ukraine might temporarily cede some areas to Russia, with hopes of regaining them later through diplomatic efforts. However, Zelensky insists that Ukraine’s NATO membership must be part of any peace deal. He believes this would strengthen Ukraine’s position in case of future conflicts with Russia.
Ukraine has been trying to join NATO for years, and officially applied in September last year. However, NATO has made it clear that Ukraine cannot join the alliance while it is still in conflict with Russia. This is because NATO’s rules require all member countries to be at peace, and bringing in a nation actively at war would risk dragging the entire alliance into the conflict.
On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Moscow is open to finding a diplomatic solution. However, he emphasized that for peace to be possible, the “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed. These include concerns about NATO expanding closer to Russia’s borders and alleged mistreatment of Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine.
Moscow insists that Ukraine must withdraw its forces from the parts of the Donbass region still under Kyiv’s control. Russia also demands that Ukraine accept Russia’s current borders, including the annexed regions. And last but not the least, Russia also wants Kyiv forces out of its Kursk region, where a massive Russian counter-offensive is about to begin. Anyway, Kyiv has already lost 40% of the Kursk region it once occupied.
We have come a long way, from Zelensky demanding nukes for his nation to now Zelensky being flexible, being aware about realities and being pragmatic and demanding a ceasefire now. It’s happening even before Trump takes the office
