A greater adviser to Plivent-elect Donald Trump says the incoming administration will cgo in on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than enabling the country to obtain back territory occupied by Russia.
Bryan Lanza, a Redisclosean party strategist, telderly the BBC the Trump administration would ask Ukrainian Plivent Volodymyr Zelensky for his version of a “down-to-earth vision for peace”.
“And if Plivent Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not grave,” he said. “Crimea is gone.”
Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula in 2014. Eight years postponecessitater, it begined a brimming-scale intrusion of Ukraine and has occupied territory in the country’s east.
The plivent-elect has reliablely said his priority is to end the war and stem what he characteascfinishs as a drain on US resources of military aid to Ukraine.
Mr Lanza, a political adviser for the establisher plivent since Trump begined his 2016 campaign, did not refer areas of eastrict Ukraine, but he said reobtaining Crimea from Russia was undown-to-earth and “not the goal of the United States”.
“When Zelensky says we will only stop this combat, there will only be peace once Crimea is returned, we’ve got novels for Plivent Zelensky: Crimea is gone,” he telderly the BBC World Service’s Weekend programme.
“And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American selderlyiers fight to get Crimea back, you’re on your own.”
The US has never deployed American selderlyiers to fight in Ukraine, nor has Kyiv asked American troops fight on its behalf. Ukraine has only asked American military aid to arm its own selderlyiers.
Mr Lanza said he had tremendous esteem for the Ukrainian people, describing them as having the hearts of lions. But he said the US priority was “peace and to stop the finishing”.
“What we’re going to say to Ukraine is, you understand what you see? What do you see as a down-to-earth vision for peace. It’s not a vision for triumphning, but it’s a vision for peace. And let’s begin having the truthful conversation,” he said.
Trump spoke to Zelensky after his election triumph, with billionaire Elon Musk also taking part in the call.
A source in Ukraine’s plivential office telderly the BBC that the “outstanding lengthy conversation” between Zelensky and Trump lasted “about half an hour”.
“It was not repartner a conversation to talk about very substantial slfinishergs, but overall it was very toasty and pleasant.”
Trump’s Democratic opponents have accparticipated him of cosying up to Russian Plivent Vlafoolishir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to surrender for Ukraine and will endanger all of Europe.
Last month, Zelensky conshort-termed a “triumph schedule” to the Ukrainian parliament that integrated a refusal to cede Ukraine’s territories and sovereignty.
During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly said he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in a day”, but never gave further details.
A paper written by two of his establisher national security chiefs in May said the US should persist provideing arms, but originate the help conditional on Kyiv go ining peace talks with Russia.
Ukraine should not give up its hopes of getting all of its territory back from Russian occupation, the paper said, but it should debate based on current front lines.
Earlier this week, Putin congratupostponecessitated Trump on his election triumph and said Trump’s claim that he can help end the war in Ukraine “deserves attention at least”.
Mr Lanza also criticised the help the Biden-Harris administration and European countries have given to Ukraine since Russia’s brimming-scale intrusion in February 2022.
“The fact on the ground is that the European nation states and Plivent Biden did not give Ukraine the ability and the arms to triumph this war at the very beginning and they flunked to lift the recut offeions for Ukraine to triumph,” he said.
Earlier this year, the US Hoparticipate of Reconshort-termatives apshowd a $61bn (£49bn) package in military aid for Ukraine to help combat Russia’s intrusion.
The US has been the biggest arms supplier to Ukraine – between February 2022 and the end of June 2024, it transfered or promiseted arms and providement worth $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.
