Will we finally be able to put the Ukraine-Russia war behind us?
Half of the equation seems to be in place, that being Ukraine, which reportedly has approved the U.S. peace plan after some adjustments were made.
Now the question is whether Russia will agree to it.
Over the last few days, there have been numerous reports about the first draft of the peace plan.
For instance, Politico reported that Republicans claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio distanced the United States from the proposal, telling them it was more or less a Russian wish list.
However, the State Department and White House later came out to deny that report, claiming it was untrue.
State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated that the report was “blatantly false,” adding, “As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians.”
Early this morning, it was reported that Ukraine had agreed to the deal, even though some minor details of the plan still needed to be worked out. It also sounded as though Ukraine knocked off about a third of the “points” from the original roadmap.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's spokesperson stated, "The talks are going well, and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who has been taking shots at President Donald Trump as of late, called the plan a "surrender document for Ukraine that would have left it at the mercy of Russia for decades to come."
However, he softened his tone after the revisions were made, writing, "We must stand on [the] side of freedom & rule of law.”
According to reports, the new plan is a 19-point proposal, but it is apparently not sitting well with Russia, and a refusal from Moscow to sign on to the plan would be a huge blow to the Trump administration, which just wants to get this war over and move on.
The New York Post reported that its “sources” said that Russia was already unhappy with the original plan, so the fact that Ukraine made further adjustments was likely not going to sit well with Kremlin officials.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also spoken publicly on the matter, stating, “After Anchorage, when we thought these understandings had already been formalized, there was a long pause. And now the pause has been broken by the introduction of this document. . . A whole series of issues there, of course, require clarification.”
I think the deal is still likely alive, but I am sure there will be some back and forth on this before it gets done. Both sides will want to posture a bit, and I know that Trump will likely push Ukraine on some concessions by threatening to pull aid. This is about as close as we have gotten to having a real deal in place, and I believe all involved are to the point where they want this war over. It may not be immediate, but this deal should get done soon.
