Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed Moscow’s dissatisfaction with key aspects of a Ukraine cease-fire plan reportedly under consideration by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration.
During his election campaign, Trump pledged to swiftly resolve the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine upon taking office for a second, nonconsecutive term.
Until now, the president-elect, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, has provided few details on how he plans to do so.
Vance further suggested that Russia might be granted a “guarantee of neutrality” from Ukraine, meaning the latter would abandon its hope of joining the NATO alliance.
While the plan was never officially confirmed, it also reportedly called for suspending Ukraine’s NATO bid—for at least 20 years—while continuing to provide U.S. military assistance to Kyiv.
Trump has expressly ruled out the deployment of U.S. troops to enforce any future cease-fire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
European leaders in recent weeks have raised the possibility of sending British or European troops to Ukraine in the event a cease-fire deal is achieved.
Biden Still Calls Shots
Moscow’s terms for ending the conflict, as stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, include the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all territories claimed by Russia and the guarantee that Ukraine will forever remain outside NATO.Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s terms while continuing to nurse hopes of eventually joining the Western military alliance.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy said he was open to diplomatic solutions with a view to preserving his country’s territorial integrity.
According to Lavrov, Moscow has yet to receive any formal communication from the United States regarding a possible cease-fire proposal.
“Until Jan. 20 ... Donald Trump has the status of ‘president-elect’ and all policy ... is determined by the incumbent president and his administration,” he said.
“So far, only the latter is authorized to engage with Russia on behalf of the United States.”
In 2022, Russia invaded and effectively annexed large swaths of eastern and southeastern Ukraine.
Since then, the United States has provided Kyiv with a vast array of military hardware and tens of billions of dollars in financial assistance to stave off the Russian invasion.
On Dec. 30, with only three weeks left in office, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $2.5 billion in security assistance and $3.4 billion in budget funding for Ukraine.
“The United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office,” Biden said in a statement.
