Rabat – Russia rejected last week the US-brokered 28-point peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration in late November.
Alongside the lack of momentum regarding peace talks, Trump continues to push against Ukraine, putting the responsibility to end the war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia refuses without territorial recognition
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin did not flat out reject the deal publicly, the canceled meeting between Putin and a US delegation indicates this.
Putin rejects any peace deal that does not recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the regions it claims to have annexed during the conflict, including the Donetsk region, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. Ukraine, conversely, refuses to cede any territory that Russia has not already captured.
The standstill comes down to which territories are rightfully Russian or Ukrainian, respectively.
The Kremlin also stands firmly against any idea of Ukrainian NATO membership.
Ukraine reassures allies of elections
After the ineffective peace deal proposal, Trump yesterday stated in an interview with Politico his concern that Ukraine “haven’t had an election in a long time… they talk about a democracy but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
Although Ukraine remains the top receiver of US aid, Trump has indicated — through rhetoric and diplomatic activity — that he is slowly distancing from Kyiv.
In response to Trump’s accusation of Zelenskyy clinging to power by withholding elections, Zelenskyy said that he is “ready for wartime elections,” despite the Ukrainian Constitution’s restrictions on elections during wartime.
Zeleknskyy asked his allies, including the US, to advise him on how to move forward with proper elections. He even appealed to the Ukrainian Parliament to amend election wartime laws. “I am asking … the United States to help me, possibly together with European colleagues, to ensure security for the elections, and then in the next 60 to 90 days Ukraine will be ready to hold the elections. I personally have the will and readiness for this,” he said.
Ukraine is currently a new draft deal with territorial concessions as hard red lines.
NATO continues to strongly back Ukraine as eastern European countries, including Estonia and Poland, hint at troop deployment in response to increased Russia aggression.
