MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said that Kiev cannot agree to a peace settlement plan proposed by former US President Donald Trump’s advisers, Reuters reported.
According to the news agency, Podolyak said that freezing hostilities on the basis of the existing line of engagement is "strange" and reiterated that Kiev only promotes President Vladimir Zelensky's so-called peace formula.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Trump’s advisers Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz proposed to withdraw US support for Ukraine if Kiev refused to negotiate with Moscow. They also indicated that the US should increase its assistance to Ukraine if Russia refuses to negotiate. According to the advisers, Russia could be persuaded to take a seat at the negotiating table if it is given assurances that Ukraine will forgo joining NATO any time soon. Meanwhile, Trump’s advisers suggested that the peace treaty should enshrine a ceasefire regime based on the existing frontline.
According to Fleitz, Ukraine should not officially cede territory to Russia, although Kiev is unlikely to regain control of all territory in the short term. He also noted that "peace" would require providing Kiev with additional security guarantees, which would involve giving Kiev weapons. The adviser pointed out that Trump positively assessed the plan, but did not agree with everything.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said that the plan proposed by Trump’s advisers to settle the conflict in Ukraine should take into account the situation on the battlefield. He reiterated that Russia has always been and will continue to be open to negotiations, recalling that President Vladimir Putin has recently put forward a peace initiative, which was accepted neither by the West nor by Ukraine.