Trump adviser: Ukraine’s priority is peace, not return of lost land

A senior aide to US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that the new administration’s priority in Ukraine would be to establish peace and not return lost territories, including Crimea. Brian Lanza, a longtime Republican strategist, told the BBC that the Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “realistic approach to peace.”
“And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, we can have peace only if we have Crimea, he will show us that he is not serious. Crimea is gone,” he said. “And if that’s your priority, to take back Crimea and fight for American soldiers to take Crimea back, you’re on your own.” He said the priority was “peace and stopping the killing”.
“What are we going to say to Ukraine, you know what you see? What do you see as a realistic vision for peace? It’s not a vision for winning, but it’s a vision for peace. And let’s start an honest conversation. , he said.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 after a coup that forced Ukraine’s Russia-friendly president to flee. More than two and a half years after launching its full offensive, Russian forces captured less than 20% of its territory. Zelensky has repeatedly said that there will be no peace until all Russian troops are expelled and all territories occupied by Moscow, including Crimea, are returned.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha said on Saturday that preliminary plans are being made for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and newly elected President Donald Trump.
A “dialogue” has been established between Zelensky and Trump, Sybiha said, after the pair spoke this week.
Despite a Russian drone strike in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa that killed one person and wounded 13, Russia said on Saturday it was open to listening to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to end the war.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” through “closed channels” in Ukraine. He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or members of Trump and his incoming administration.