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Topics: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, World News
Callum Jones
Topics: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, World News
Donald Trump is set to allow Vladimir Putin to keep some of the land Russia has seized from Ukraine in a proposed peace deal.
During the election campaign, Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours back in office, but it's been a lot more complicated than that.
Amid a tense bust-up between Trump and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, the US even temporarily withdrew military aid to the warn-torn country.
However, Trump has previously expressed his anger at Putin for comments made about Ukraine, and even went as far to blame Putin, Zelenskyy and Joe Biden for the millions of deaths in the war.
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The Trump administration had also previously threatened to abandon the peace talks if a particular demand hadn't been met, but now, the White House is proposing a peace deal in what they hope will bring an end to the war.
The deal, which doesn't provide Ukraine with a US security guarantee, will be discussed in London on Wednesday (April 23), The Telegraph reports.
First of all, the US would offer formal recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, a region of Ukraine which Putin illegally annexed back in 2014, the outlet continues.
Such move would mean the fighting on the frontline would come to an immediate halt, allowing Putin to keep almost all of the Ukrainian territory he's gained.
The regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would all become Russian territory, while Ukraine would keep hold of a second area of Kherson province access to the mouth of the Dnieper river, which has been held by Russian troops.
The Telegraph further reports that points one and two of the proposed deal state an immediate ceasefire would take place followed by talks between Ukraine and Russia, which President Zelenskyy has agreed in principle.
The deal also would have to see Ukraine agree to not seek Nato membership in the future, though the country would still be free to join the European Union if they wish.
Areas occupied by Russia would not be recognised as being apart of Russia, while the US would take control of the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, which is currently held by Russian troops.
Another point of the plan by the US would see Ukraine sign a minerals deal allowing them access to the country’s natural resources, as some raise concerns about a potential future relationship between America and Russia.
If Russia agree to the deal, then the US would lift all sanctions on the European nation and would begin to work together on energy.
Keith Kellogg, who is the US envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will represent them at the talks in London, before his colleague Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to present the plan to Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on state TV: "Probably it is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement, a viable settlement, in a short-time frame."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready for any discussions in order to end civilian casualties, adding (via LBC): "Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow.
"We are ready for any conversation about how to achieve this."