The US is waiting for Ukraine’s response on Wednesday to a peace framework that includes the US recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and unofficially recognizing Russian control over nearly all of the territories occupied since the 2022 invasion, sources with direct knowledge of the proposal told Axios.<\/p>\n
The one-page document presented by the US to Ukrainian officials in Paris last week describes it as President Trump’s “final offer.” The White House insists it is prepared to back down if the parties do not reach an agreement soon. Trump’s proposal would require major concessions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has previously refused to accept Russia’s occupation of Crimea and parts of four regions in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
While Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to freeze current front lines in order to reach a deal, he has previously rejected other elements of the American framework, such as a European peacekeeping force on Ukrainian territory. A source close to the Ukrainian government stated that Kiev views the proposal as heavily biased towards Russia: “The proposal clearly states what tangible benefits Russia will gain, but only vaguely mentions what Ukraine will gain.”<\/p>\n
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – the largest of its kind in Europe – will be considered Ukrainian territory but will be operated by the US, with electricity being supplied to both Ukraine and Russia. The document also references the US-Ukraine minerals agreement, which Trump announced will be signed on Thursday. The plan was drafted after Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin for over four hours last week.<\/p>\n
After the plan was presented, Putin reportedly offered to halt Russia’s invasion along the current front lines as part of a potential deal, according to the Financial Times. This is the biggest gesture from Putin so far signaling his willingness to make peace, but European officials remain skeptical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US is waiting for Ukraine’s response on Wednesday to a peace framework that includes the US recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and unofficially recognizing Russian control over nearly all of the territories occupied since the 2022 invasion, sources with direct knowledge of the proposal told Axios. The one-page document presented by the US<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":83774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1135],"tags":[9030,9002,9029,1249,1203],"class_list":{"0":"post-86556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-foreign-affairs-en","8":"tag-crimea","9":"tag-usa-en","10":"tag-plan-en","11":"tag-trump-en","12":"tag-ucraina-en"},"yoast_head":"\n