Crucial response: Russia has received the US peace plan for Ukraine
Russia has received the US peace plan for Ukraine, but this text is not being discussed with Moscow in detail. This was stated by Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Russian Security Council on November 21. This plan can form the basis of a peaceful settlement, the president believes. However, the United States has so far failed to secure Ukraine's agreement on peace initiatives. Russia is still ready for negotiations, but it is also satisfied with the current dynamics of its military, which makes it possible to achieve its goals by military means, the head of state noted. Experts are confident that Ukraine and Europe can resort to provocations to disrupt the peace process. Although even many of Zelensky's patrons are realizing that the current regime in Kiev is "rotten," the Federation Council told Izvestia.
Putin praised Trump's peace plan
Vladimir Putin has for the first time commented on the new US plan to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. This happened at a meeting of the Security Council on the evening of November 21. At the same time, the president clarified: the peace initiative of the head of the White House, Donald Trump, was discussed even before the meeting in Alaska in August, when Washington asked Moscow to make certain compromises. The Russian side in Anchorage confirmed that even despite the difficult issues, it is ready to show "the flexibility offered to us."
— However, we see that after the negotiations in Alaska, there was a certain pause on the American side, and we know that this is due to Ukraine's actual rejection of the peace settlement plan proposed by President Trump. I believe that this is why its new version has appeared, in fact, a modernized 28-point plan. We have this text, we have received it through the available channels of interaction with the American administration. I believe that it can also be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement," the head of state explained.
The new text is not being discussed with the Russian side, Vladimir Putin noted. The reason, according to the president, is that the US administration has so far failed to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side.
— Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield. I think this position is based not so much on a low level of competence — I will not discuss this side of the matter now. But, most likely, this position is due to the lack of objective information about the real situation on the battlefield. And, apparently, neither Ukraine nor Europe understands what this may eventually lead to," Vladimir Putin believes.
As an example, he cited the liberation of Kupyansk, which became known on November 20 during the president's trip to one of the command posts of the Zapad group. Back on November 4, Kiev publicly stated that no more than 60 Russian military personnel were allegedly stationed there, and promised to unblock the city in the coming days. However, at that moment Kupyansk was already almost entirely in the hands of the Russian armed forces, Vladimir Putin said.
— If Kiev does not want to discuss President Trump's proposals and refuses to do so, then both they and the European warmongers should understand that the events that took place in Kupyansk will inevitably be repeated in other key sectors of the front. Maybe not as fast as we would like, but it will inevitably happen again. And in general, we are satisfied with this, since it leads to the achievement of its goals by armed means, during the armed struggle," he stressed.
In conclusion, the head of state once again stressed that Moscow is ready to solve problems through diplomatic means. However, this requires a substantive discussion of all the details of the proposed plan.
"We are ready for this," he concluded.
If we objectively assess the situation on the battlefield, Ukraine should also be interested in a diplomatic solution to the crisis. However, no specific signals have yet been received from the Ukrainian side.
Although the successes of the Russian army may lead to the complete collapse of the Zelensky regime, especially against the background of the corruption scandal that broke out in Ukraine. After the publication of the criminal schemes in the Mindich case, it became obvious even to Zelensky's patrons that his regime was rotten, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia.
— First of all, the successes of our army are undoubtedly a positive process that the whole country is waiting for. And we are proud of our guys, who perform a very important and sometimes very dangerous function. Secondly, the fact that Zelensky's regime is rotten has already become obvious even to his patrons and curators. Because of this, there is now such a fussy campaign to whitewash some figures. I think Ukrainian voters still have to figure out who will lead the country next — let's not make predictions," he told Izvestia.
A similar statement was made earlier by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian leader. According to him, Zelensky should be forced to bring a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine by the advance of Russian troops.
"The effective work of the Russian Armed Forces should convince Zelensky and his regime that it is better to negotiate and do it now. <...> The decision—making space for him is shrinking as territories are lost during the offensive actions of the Russian Armed Forces. <...> This is precisely forcing Zelensky and his regime to resolve the issue peacefully," he said. He's at a briefing on November 21st.
At the same time, in such circumstances, Ukraine may resort to further provocations to disrupt the peace process, Karasin believes.
— We expect provocations every day. We must expect provocations from Ukraine and do everything so that they do not bear the fruits so desired by the Zelensky regime," the senator said.
Europe is already intervening in the peace process
Europe can also resort to provocations. She is already opposed to a diplomatic solution to the problem and may prolong the conflict, Oleg Karpovich, vice-rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.
— [The plan proposed by the USA ] This is a major step forward compared to the approaches of the Biden administration. It is obvious that Europe and Ukraine are opposed to a diplomatic solution to the problem and intend to prolong the conflict. Therefore, much will depend on Trump's willingness to put pressure on Zelensky to bring him to the negotiating table," he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have already had a telephone conversation with Zelensky, in which this particular plan was discussed. They assured Zelensky of their unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace.
Despite the fact that the leaders expressed support for the US peace efforts, in fact they are ready to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons and can push Kiev to continue fighting. Suffice it to recall that in 2022, the peace talks in Istanbul were disrupted at the initiative of London.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added that negotiations on the agreement will continue between European leaders at the G20 summit in South Africa. She also promised support to Ukraine. At the same time, European diplomats, speaking to the press on condition of anonymity, called the document a "bad deal" and a "list of items that meet Russia's requirements." They emphasize that the agreement was developed without their participation.
The Wall Street Journal reports that France, Britain, Germany and other partners are already working on an alternative plan. It is worth noting that this is not officially confirmed at the level of the European Commission.
Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, expects that Europeans and Ukrainians will look for ways to prevent the implementation of his points.
"In the coming days and weeks, we should expect that European diplomatic services will actively work and new visits of European leaders to the White House will be planned, the key mission of which will be to fill the plan with details unacceptable to Russia," the expert noted.
Anyway, Kiev must accept the terms of the agreement before Thanksgiving, that is, before November 27. After this date, the plan must be submitted to Moscow. This was stated by US President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News on November 21.
— I had a lot of deadlines, but if things are going well, the deadlines are usually postponed. But Thursday is the deadline," he said.
Trump separately stated that if Kiev does not accept the deal, Ukraine "will lose territories that it has not yet lost during the conflict." On the other hand, he promised tough new sanctions against Russia, which should affect energy supplies.
Meanwhile, Zelensky delivered an address to the people on November 21. In his speech, he said that Ukraine faces a choice — either to preserve its dignity and its position, risking losing a key partner (probably the United States), or to accept the "difficult 28 points" of the plan. According to him, the upcoming winter will be "the hardest."
Trump's Full Plan
The document itself, which Zelensky and European diplomats call "complex," consists of four blocks and 28 paragraphs. The first one is territorial. According to it, Ukraine withdraws its army from the remaining part of Donbass, this strip turns into a neutral demilitarized buffer zone for both sides. The line of contact in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions is frozen.
The second block is devoted to the military aspect of the agreement. The Ukrainian army is limited in number to 600 thousand people. At the moment, its number, according to the statements of the Ukrainian side, is estimated at 800 thousand people. In addition, foreign troops and long-range weapons systems will not be deployed in the country. Kiev should also refuse to join NATO and fix it legally, and the alliance itself should include in its documents a provision stating that Ukraine will not be accepted in the future.
It can already be noted that Trump's plan does not take into account one of his stated goals, the demilitarization of Ukraine, Meloyan stressed. The document contains a clause on the preservation of Ukraine's 600,000-strong army, which until 2022 was estimated at 250,000 soldiers.
— There is also nothing said about any restrictions on long-range missiles of its own Ukrainian design, the purchase of European or American weapons, and so on. In this sense, Moscow, as the winning side, may require finalizing the document," the expert noted.
The third block is economic. It implies a multi-year investment package for the reconstruction of Ukraine, for which about $100 billion of frozen Russian assets will be used, with another $100 billion to be added by the European Union. The rest of the Russian funds are allocated to a separate US-Russian investment mechanism.
The fourth block is devoted to sanctions issues. If the conditions are met, sanctions will be gradually lifted from Russia. Moscow may eventually return to the G8 format, and a separate long-term economic cooperation agreement is being launched between the United States and Russia.
In the humanitarian part, the plan provides for the creation of a separate committee that should organize the exchange of all prisoners of war and bodies of the dead according to the "all for all" scheme, the return of all civilian hostages, family reunification programs and measures to alleviate the situation of victims of the conflict.
The last point is the issue of the execution of agreements. It includes an immediate cease-fire after signing, the withdrawal of troops to the agreed lines and the launch of the Zaporizhia NPP under the supervision of the IAEA with an equal distribution of generated electricity between Ukraine and Russia.
Control over the implementation of all points is transferred to a special "Peace Council" chaired by Donald Trump, which, in case of violations, gets the right to initiate the automatic restoration of sanctions and other measures.
Even if the peace plan is signed by Zelensky, certain legal difficulties may arise, experts say.
— In the eyes of Russia's political leadership, Zelensky is still illegitimate. Moreover, the future Ukrainian administration, when it sees fit, will be able to recognize the signed agreement as null and void," Meloyan said.
At this stage, any plan concluded with Ukraine should be considered solely as a document of a conciliatory nature, only after fulfilling the points of which it will be possible to talk about signing a long-term peace, the expert concluded.
Political scientist Denis Denisov agrees with him. The plan does not contain any points clarifying the end of the conflict and defining the line of contact. According to him, in its current form, the document remains a framework and is unable to resolve a number of problems.
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