Report: Trump offers Russia NATO, Crimea concessions
The Kremlin has expressed "satisfaction" with Donald Trump's casual announcement that he would explicitly and officially exclude Ukraine's accession to NATO.
Trump also stated, "There's a very good chance we could reach a deal between Russia and Ukraine this week." The Kremlin's satisfaction regarding the U.S. proposal to bar Ukraine from NATO membership was conveyed on Monday evening. "We have heard from Washington, at various levels, that Ukraine's NATO membership is definitely excluded," Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, told reporters on Monday.
This comes after Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, made a surprise visit to Ukraine last week to meet with President Zelenskyy. Peskov continued, repeating a well-known Kremlin pretext, claiming that Ukraine's NATO membership "threatens the national interests" of the aggressor state and was one of the "fundamental causes" of the invasion of Ukraine.
On April 20, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Donald Trump's administration offered Ukraine a ceasefire proposal that includes several concessions to Russia – specifically, recognizing Crimea's annexation and barring NATO membership. According to the WSJ, Washington is awaiting a response from Kyiv this week. Donald Trump had also previously stated that U.S. support for Ukraine's NATO membership was one of the main causes of the war.
All this comes as the Trump camp is accelerating efforts to secure a "peace," amidst frustration that efforts to end the war in Ukraine are not progressing as quickly as initially hoped. Trump had promised during his campaign that he could end the war within 24 hours of taking office. However, for three months now, attacks from both sides have continued, particularly those that could be considered Russian war crimes.
Trump is therefore preparing to offer Moscow two major incentives for Putin to accept "peace" as quickly as possible. In addition to offering to bar Ukraine's entry into NATO, Trump and his team are also prepared to recognize Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Late Sunday evening (Monday morning in Europe), Trump said he expects a deal by the end of this week. "Both countries will then start doing great business with the United States of America, our economy booming, and they will make a fortune!" Trump said.
The great irony remains that the promise made to Ukraine, as well as Georgia (a fact often overlooked), regarding potential NATO membership dates back to the Bucharest summit in... 2008. At that time, U.S. President George Bush was the one who most strongly supported the idea and wanted a precise final declaration with a firm commitment, while the Europeans (today's main supporters of Kyiv) were the ones who opposed it.
Meanwhile, Putin signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, Moscow's state news agency RIA reported on Monday. The Russian autocrat signed the 20-year strategic partnership pact with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, back in January.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
