Multiple people with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that as part of a coordinated effort to find a solution to the conflict with Russia, President-elect Donald Trump’s national security team has spoken with Ukrainian authorities and the White House.
According to the sources, Kyiv has not yet received a conceptual or detailed peace plan from Trump’s advisers and Cabinet nominees, who have differing opinions on Ukraine.
Even before taking office next month, the president-elect has vowed to put a stop to the violence, describing the deaths on both sides as a tragedy. In his public remarks, however, Obama has given conflicting signals, calling on Russia to make peace while also implying that he may reduce U.S. military assistance to Ukraine or reinstate restrictions on Kyiv’s deployment of American-made long-range missiles against targets within Russia.
Trump has pledged to bring the war to a swift conclusion, but as Moscow’s forces advance in eastern Ukraine, it is still uncertain if he will be able to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to do so. Furthermore, it is unclear whether Trump’s team has discussed Ukraine with Putin’s administration and, if so, what each party has said.
Trump responded, “I am,” when asked on Meet the Press if he was actively trying to stop the war, but he would not reveal whether he had spoken to Putin since the November election.
Trump stated that he didn’t want to discuss that because he didn’t want to do anything that would make the negotiations more difficult.
Regarding whether Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a Putin friend, conveyed any Russian messages to Trump during his recent trip to Mar-a-Lago, the transition team chose not to comment.
According to a senior administration official and other people familiar with the situation, Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, has spoken with his designated successor, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., on multiple occasions. According to one of the sources, they have concentrated on exchanging pertinent information but have not looked into ways to stop the conflict or negotiate a truce.
According to the senior administration official, one advantage of those talks is that they will guarantee that Trump’s transition team won’t be taken by surprise by any moves taken by the Biden administration toward Ukraine before the president-elect takes office in January.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Trump is very serious about wanting to reach a truce on day one.
Although Trump’s team is working hard to halt the conflict so that peace negotiations may begin, the obstacles are still formidable as the war nears its three-year mark.
Congressman Waltz and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan communicate on a variety of topics, according to transition spokeswoman Brian Hughes, when asked if Walz and other members of Trump’s transition team are collaborating with the Biden administration on a ceasefire plan. Until President-Elect Trump takes office, the intention is for the world to realize that there is a desire for the period of transition to be viewed as a strong America, striving for peace and stability globally.
Two people close to Kyiv and former U.S. officials who are in contact with Ukrainian officials said that Trump’s team has not yet communicated any possible plans to the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, subsequent encounters and discussions between Zelenskyy, Trump, and their advisors have been positive, according to the sources, including a face-to-face meeting arranged by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
According to one of the individuals, the environment for interaction between the Ukrainians and the new Trump team—which includes Zelenskyy and Trump himself—has been favorable so far.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance attended discussions last week between Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and Trump’s nominee for U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.
Trump’s entry to the White House with the belief that Kyiv was the primary obstacle to ending the war had alarmed Ukraine and its friends in Washington and Europe. However, according to the two individuals and former U.S. officials, the president-elect appears to see Putin as the issue rather than Ukraine based on his social media statements.
According to a source, Trump himself seems to realize that the Ukrainians are not the roadblock to peace.
Trump stated on social media on Sunday that Putin needed to take action and that Zelenskyy and Ukraine were prepared for a peace agreement.
However, according to former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, there are no signs that Putin is willing to compromise or that his overarching goal of effectively controlling Ukraine has altered.
According to analysts and former U.S. diplomats, the Kremlin will be hesitant to stop fighting since Ukraine is facing a personnel deficit, which has caused the momentum to change in Russia’s favor on the eastern battlefield in recent weeks. Additionally, if Ukrainian troops are still occupying land within Russia in the Kursk region, Russia would not accept a ceasefire.
In recent interviews, a Russian hardliner with strong ties to the Kremlin stated that until there are more comprehensive discussions that satisfy Moscow’s security concerns, any attempt by Trump to stop the war will fail. Russian entrepreneur and ultra-nationalist Konstantin Malofeyev told the Financial Times that Putin was likely to turn down a peace proposal that Kellogg had put up months prior, before Trump appointed him as the U.S. envoy to Ukraine.
When Kellogg presents his proposal to us in Moscow, we accept it but urge him to screw himself because we don’t like any of it. According to Malofeyev, it would be the entirety of the negotiation. We must discuss the future of Europe and the globe, not the destiny of Ukraine, if we want the negotiations to be fruitful.
By threatening to stop military aid to Ukraine if it doesn’t agree to negotiations and to increase arms delivery to Kyiv if Moscow doesn’t come to the table, Kellogg suggested earlier this year that both sides be forced into peace talks. Under the idea, Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO for a maximum of ten years.
According to the plan, Ukraine could only reclaim lost territory diplomatically or politically and would have to accept the current front lines, at least for the time being.
According to people with knowledge of the situation, Trump’s administration is likely to reject Ukraine’s long-standing desire to eventually join NATO in an effort to convince Russia to start peace negotiations with Kyiv. Rather, some countries of the alliance may grant security guarantees to Ukraine. Zelenskyy suggested that foreign forces be stationed there until Kyiv could become a member of NATO.
Regarding Trump’s stance on preventing Ukraine from joining NATO permanently or for a specific amount of time, the Trump transition team chose not to comment.
Biden administration officials debated earlier this year whether to try to get the transatlantic alliance to invite Ukraine to join. But once Trump won the election in November, the idea was shelved, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
According to the Biden administration source, Trump would be making a grave error if he pursued a peace agreement that would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO for the foreseeable future. By keeping Ukraine from joining the Western military bulwark against Moscow, Putin would have accomplished a significant strategic goal and almost justified his invasion of Ukraine, the official added.
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