A senior aide to US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that the new administration’s priority in Ukraine would be establishing peace and not restoring lost territory, including Crimea. Bryan Lanza, a long-time Republican party strategist, told the BBC that Trump administration would be asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “realistic vision for peace.”
“And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not serious. Crimea is gone,” he said. “And if that is your priority, of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you’re on your own.” He said the priority was “peace and to stop the killing.”
“What we’re going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see? What do you see as a realistic vision for peace? It’s not a vision for winning, but it’s a vision for peace. And let’s start having the honest conversation, he said.
Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula in 2014 after an uprising that prompted Ukraine’s Russia-friendly president to flee. More than two-and-a-half years after launching its full-fledged invasion, Russian forces hold just under 20% of its territory. Zelensky has repeatedly said peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Moscow, including Crimea, is returned.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Saturday preliminary planning is underway for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President-elect Donald Trump.
A “dialogue” has been established between Zelensky and Trump, Sybiha said, after the pair spoke this week.
Russia on Saturday said it is open to hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals on ending the war, even as a Russian drone killed one person and wounded 13 in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels.” He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or Trump and members of his incoming administration.
