The White House doesn’t know how to deal with Russia to persuade it to accept Trump’s peace plan – Politico
2 May 2025 21:51
There is no consensus in the administration of US President Donald Trump on how to deal with Russia to mitigate its resistance to the peace plan, while an economic cooperation agreement has already been signed with Ukraine.
Politico writes about this with reference to people familiar with the discussion, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
One of the interlocutors of the publication noted that the next step could be the introduction of new sanctions, provided that Trump wants to go this way.
In the Senate, Senator Lindsey Graham’s proposal to impose new sanctions against Russia and 500 percent duties on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, and aluminum received bipartisan support.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he had discussed the proposal with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressing a desire for European allies to coordinate their sanctions actions with Washington.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously assured reporters that a subsoil deal with Ukraine would send a “powerful signal” to Russia and that it would give Trump the opportunity to negotiate with Moscow on an even “stronger basis.”
However, the former chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of three Republican administrations believes that signing an agreement with Ukraine will not be a turning point in peace talks, Politico quoted him as saying.
According to two of the publication’s interlocutors, although representatives of the Trump administration have publicly confirmed the importance of concluding a deal, there is no consensus in the White House on what to do next.
As a reminder, US Vice President J.D. Vance expressed the opinion that Russia’s war against Ukraine will not end anytime soon.
Before that, he explained that there is a “very big gap” between Ukraine and Russia in terms of how they see the war ending, so the Trump administration will work to “try to bring these parties closer together” over the next 100 days.
What is known about the US peace deal
The Telegraph has learned that the United States presented its own 7-point peace plan to end the Russian-Ukrainian war at a meeting in London with delegations from Ukraine and other European countries on April 23.
In particular, the United States proposes an immediate ceasefire and negotiations. Crimea should be officially recognized as Russian, and the current front line should be frozen. At the same time, Russia should give up full control over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it considers its own.
Ukraine should also refuse to join NATO, but will have the opportunity for further European integration. In addition, Kyiv should sign a minerals agreement with Washington.
