© Office of the President Dan Driscoll said that Trump “wants peace” now.
American representatives informed NATO partners that if Kyiv doesn’t consent to a new “agreement for peace,” it will be compelled to accept even less favorable conditions later on, as reported by The Guardian. The US desires to push Ukraine into signing the accord in the near future.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll briefed NATO ambassadors in anticipation of a gathering in Kyiv on November 21. This took place after discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky and a telephone conversation with the White House.
“No arrangement is ideal, but it must be finalized with urgency,” Driscoll’s statement was reported by an individual present during the meeting.
According to the news source, the atmosphere in the room was somber. Several European envoys questioned the substance of the agreement and the fact that the US had not updated its allies regarding its communications with Russia concerning this matter.
“It was a dreadful meeting. The argument ‘you possess no leverage’ was reiterated,” mentioned the publication’s contact.
It is noted that Driscoll, who was assigned responsibility for Ukraine, refrained from commenting on whether the agreement proposed to Kyiv aligns with the one circulating in the press.
“Certain aspects hold significance, others are merely window dressing, and our focus was on the aspects that truly matter,” Driscoll was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Concurrently, European associates are uneasy about the excessive influence Russia wielded during the negotiations on the proposed “accord.” Driscoll purportedly defended this by stating that it renders the process more manageable.
“President Trump desires peace immediately. An abundance of cooks complicates management,” he stated.
The US chargé d’affaires in Kyiv, Julie Davis, also attended the meeting. She informed fellow diplomats that while the terms of the arrangement were demanding for Ukraine, it had no alternative but to consent or encounter graver repercussions down the line.
“The deal won’t improve; it’ll deteriorate,” she remarked.
Trump is anxious for Zelensky to approve an arrangement by Thanksgiving on November 27. Earlier in the week, Davis informed reporters that Trump is employing a “forceful approach” to finalize an accord.
“We have observed an exceptionally swift pace of diplomatic actions,” she said, while speaking at a gathering celebrating Driscoll and his delegation from the U.S. Army.
According to her, such diplomatic action is allegedly the “most ambitious” she has encountered during her career in the diplomatic corps.
When questioned about why Kyiv should be amenable to relinquishing territory in the east that Russian forces have been unable to seize for 11 years, the American official responded that the arrangement was “advantageous for Ukraine.” As per the Americans, they anticipate that Trump and Zelensky will convene at the negotiating table and sign a “peace” document.
The Economist previously wrote that Zelensky is unable to openly reject the document and is compelled to persist in negotiations, striving to mitigate the worst provisions of the “peace proposal.” So far, the Ukrainian leader has minimized the importance of the American plan, referring to it as Trump’s “perspective,” but he is now compelled to tread carefully in an effort to safeguard Ukrainian interests while preserving the dialogue with the United States. Analysts emphasize that the “peace plan” presented by the United States is currently unacceptable to Ukraine, yet Kyiv cannot simply dismiss it.
Concurrently, according to Bloomberg, Zelensky and the leaders of France, Germany, and other European nations are in a hurry to “respond” to the new US peace plan to conclude Russia’s war against Ukraine, notably, to Washington’s timeframe for Kyiv. The allies are proceeding cautiously, intending to frame the modifications to the plan as constructive enhancements.
In the coming days, Ukraine will engage in consultations with the United States in Switzerland. Zelensky has already endorsed the composition of the delegation, which will be led by the head of the OPU, Andriy Yermak.
