The Kremlin has welcomed US president Donald Trump’s views on Nato and his call for Ukraine to make concessions because it is “losing” the war with Russia, as Kyiv said it was preparing to send an updated 20-point peace proposal to Washington.
Mr Trump told Politico this week that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was “gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things ... “cause he’s losing,” and said Russia had “the upper hand” in its near four-year full-scale invasion of its pro-western neighbour.
He also said Europe was “decaying” under leaders who were “weak”.
The interview was published after a new US national security strategy made it a “core” US interest to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and said Washington wanted to restore strategic stability with Russia and remove “the perception and [prevent] the reality” of Nato being a “perpetually expanding alliance”.
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“Certainly, in many ways – the topic of Nato membership, the topic of territories, the topic of Ukraine losing land – this chimes with our understanding,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
“And in many ways, president Trump touched on the root causes of this conflict, as it relates to Nato, and this is very important in terms of prospects for a peace resolution.”
Mr Trump opposes Ukraine’s bid to join Nato and is yet to offer US security guarantees to Ukraine that would convince Kyiv or European states that Russia would not attack its neighbour again.
“The United States is showing increasing impatience,” said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, describing Mr Trump as “the only western leader who has started ... to show an understanding of the underlying causes that made the war in Ukraine inevitable.
“President Trump has agreed ... that the root causes identified by Russia really need to be addressed, which include guarantees that Ukraine won’t join Nato,” he added.
During weeks of shuttle diplomacy involving US envoys and negotiators from Russia and Ukraine, several framework peace proposals have been drawn up, with officials from Kyiv and European capitals trying to rebalance an initial 28-point plan that they regarded as heavily weighted in favour of Moscow.
“We continue to communicate with all our partners on a daily basis, virtually 24/7, to identify doable and realistic steps to bring the war to an end. Everything must be reliable and dignified for Ukraine,” Mr Zelenskiy said after returning to Kyiv from meetings with European leaders in London and Rome.
He said he planned to talk to US officials on Wednesday about “Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction and economic development” while also “finalising work on the 20 points of a fundamental document that could define the parameters for ending the war” which would be sent to the US “in the near future.”
Talks with states that give military aid to Ukraine as part of a so-called coalition of the willing would take place on Thursday, Mr Zelenskiy added.
“This week may bring news for all of us – and for bringing the bloodshed to an end. We believe that peace has no alternative, and the key questions are how to compel Russia to stop the killings and what specifically will deter Russia from [another] invasion.”
On Tuesday evening, Mr Zelenskiy responded to comments from Mr Trump that Ukraine should hold elections – despite them being banned under the country’s martial law and dangerous amid daily Russian drone and missile strikes.
“I am now asking ... for the United States, possibly together with our European colleagues, to help me ensure security for holding elections,” the Ukrainian president said. “And then, within the next 60 to 90 days, Ukraine will be ready to hold them.”
