Trump adviser says Ukraine’s focus must be on peace, not retaking territory
President-elect Donald Trump’s senior adviser says the new administration will focus on achieving peace in the war in Ukraine instead of reclaiming territory.
Bryan Lanza, a Republican strategist, told the BBC that the Trump administration would consult with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his “realistic vision of peace”.
“And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says we can only have peace if we have Crimea, then he shows us that he is not serious,” he said.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Eight years later, it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and occupied territory in the east of the country.
Trump has spoken to Zelensky since winning the US election – the pair had a phone call on Wednesday with billionaire Elon Musk also joining in.
A source in the Ukrainian president’s office told the BBC: “It was a short conversation with Musk, but it was a long and interesting conversation with Trump, it lasted about half an hour.”
“It wasn’t really a conversation to talk about important things, but overall it was very warm and pleasant.”
Trump has always said that his priority is to end the war and prevent the depletion of America’s resources.
His Democratic opponents have accused him of currying favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to surrender for Ukraine and would endanger all of Europe.
Last month, Zelensky presented a “victory plan” to the Ukrainian parliament, which included a Refuse to exchange Ukrainian territory and sovereignty.
During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly said he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in a day,” but gave no details. An article written by two of his former national security directors in May said the United States should continue to supply weapons but offer support on the condition that Kiev participates in peace talks with Russia.
The newspaper said Ukraine should not give up hope of regaining all of its territory from Russian occupation but should negotiate based on current battle lines.
Mr. Lanza did not mention areas in eastern Ukraine, but he said that reclaiming Crimea from Russia was unrealistic and “not a US goal”.
He told BBC World Service’s Weekend programme: “When Zelensky said we will only stop this war, there will only be peace when Crimea is returned, we have news for President Zelensky: Crimea is gone ”.
“And if it’s your priority to take back Crimea and have American soldiers fight to take back Crimea, then you have to do it yourself.”
Mr. Lanza said he has great respect for the Ukrainian people and described them as having the heart of a lion. However, he said America’s priority is “peace and an end to killing”.
“What we’re going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see? You see what a realistic vision of peace is. It’s not a vision of victory, it’s a vision of peace. And let’s start.” start an honest conversation.” ” he said.
Earlier this week, Putin congratulates Trump about his election victory and said Trump’s claim that he could help end the war in Ukraine was “at least worthy of attention”.
Mr. Lanza also criticized the support that the Biden-Harris administration and European countries have provided to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“The reality is that European countries and President Biden did not give Ukraine the capabilities and weapons to win this war from the beginning and they did not lift restrictions to allow Ukraine to win the war,” he said. win”.
Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives passed it military aid package worth 61 billion USD Ukraine to help fight the Russian invasion.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research agency, the US is the largest arms supplier to Ukraine – from February 2022 to the end of June 2024, the country delivered or pledged to supply weapons to Ukraine. gas and equipment worth 55.5 billion USD. organization.
