WASHINGTON — With US officials in London Wednesday for what could be a last round of negotiations to try to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the pressure is on for Moscow and Kyiv to agree to the Trump administration’s “final offer” peace plan.
While Kyiv has been consistently open to President Trump’s call for a full cease-fire, Russia has continually rejected the American peace proposals.
The latest pitch, as described by one senior administration official, offers Russia several “carrots” to entice it to come to the table while asking Ukraine to make several major concessions.
Here’s a look at what each side has been offered, according to administration officials:
What Russia gets
- Formal US recognition of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula as Russian territory — a major departure from Washington’s longstanding Welles doctrine, which refuses to acknowledge annexed territory as belonging to the seizing power.
- “De facto” recognition of Russia’s occupation of four regions in eastern Ukraine, meaning the US would acknowledge Moscow controls the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts while formally considering them Ukrainian land.
- A pledge that the US would not support Ukraine becoming a member of NATO.
- Lifting sanctions to boost Russia’s economy, which has struggled throughout its war on Ukraine.
- Opportunities for more economic cooperation with the US, especially in the energy and industrial fields.
What Ukraine gets
- Assistance from European military forces as “a robust security guarantee” following a cease-fire. The US would not be involved in this measure.
- Russia would return a small portion of Ukraine’s Kharkiv oblast currently occupied by Moscow.
- Navigation rights in the Dnieper River, which runs along the front lines.
- Assistance in post-war rebuilding, though it is unclear from where that funding would come.
