Putin dismisses Trump's Ukraine nato deal amid ongoing tension
Vladimir Putin has dismissed a suggestion from the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team that Ukraine's membership in NATO would be postponed by at least a decade in return for Russia agreeing to end the conflict with Ukraine, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have noted that Vladimir Putin rejected Donald Trump's team's proposal for a potential peace plan. This proposal suggested delaying Ukraine's NATO membership by at least a decade in exchange for Russia ending the conflict.
On 26 December, Putin responded to a journalist's question about Trump's team's proposal by saying that it doesn't matter whether Ukraine joins NATO "today, tomorrow, or in 10 years."
According to ISW, his statement is part of a series of comments where the Russian leader refuses to compromise on his previous demands. These demands include Ukraine's neutrality, limitations on its military, and a change of government in Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview on 26 December, stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is no longer the legitimate leader according to the Ukrainian constitution and that new presidential elections are necessary. ISW notes that the Kremlin is deliberately misinterpreting Ukrainian law to delegitimise the government in Kyiv.
Russia does not want to negotiate with Ukraine, demanding a change in power as a precondition for peace talks.
Putin and other Russian politicians perpetuate the narrative of Zelensky's alleged illegitimacy, blaming Ukraine for delaying negotiations. ISW emphasises that this narrative supports Putin's demand for the removal of Ukraine's democratically elected government, which is one of the Kremlin's goals in the ongoing war.
Trump's promises
Donald Trump declared that he intends to end the conflict immediately, even claiming that he could do it in one day. When he took office, he suggested that Ukraine consider giving up part of its territory to Russia as part of a peace compromise. Trump's plan also proposed that both countries enter into negotiations.
We will work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. This must end. I have seen reports of thousands of people killed in three days; these were soldiers. But regardless of whether they are soldiers or people living in cities, we will work on it— assured Donald Trump during a gala organised at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
– Putin will not agree to Trump's peace plan because his goal is to destroy Ukraine and expose the West's ineffectiveness – assessed former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Politico.
