The US will propose a peace deal that involves the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and freezing the Ukrainian conflict front lines
The US proposals were presented to Ukraine in Paris last week, according to the Washington Post.
President Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg is set to meet foreign ministers and security advisers from France, Germany, the UK and Ukraine in London on Wednesday. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will not be attending the meeting as originally planned.
RT reports: US proposals, presented to Ukraine in Paris last week, also include Washington eventually lifting sanctions against Moscow under a future accord, people familiar with the matter told the outlet on Tuesday. One Western official reportedly described the pressure on Ukraine as “astounding.”
European officials are expected to push for security guarantees for Ukraine and postwar reconstruction efforts, possibly funded in part by frozen Russian assets, the report said.
Trump has threatened to walk away from a Ukraine peace initiative if progress is not made soon. He told reporters on Monday that he would be releasing details of the US proposals “over the next three days.”
Witkoff, who has had multiple rounds of talks with senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, will visit Russia later this week, Moscow has confirmed. According to one of the Post’s sources, it was “Witkoff’s idea” for the US to designate Crimea as Russian “without forcing Ukraine to recognize it.”
Crimea held a referendum to join Russia in 2014 following a Western-backed armed coup in Kiev. The new Ukrainian government, along with its Western backers, has refused to recognize the vote’s legitimacy.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has ruled out relinquishing any territorial claims against Russia and has urged the US and other nations to continue providing military aid – a policy the Trump administration has said it will end.
Moscow insists that the status of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, and the four former Ukrainian regions which voted to join Russia in 2022, is not up for negotiation. Russian officials have emphasized that recognizing the “reality on the ground” is key to achieving lasting peace.