“The Biden administration and the Trump team discuss the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine — State Department December 18, 01:58 Share: US President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) The spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, said that there is an ongoing dispute between the administration of Joe Biden and the team of President-elect Donald Trump”, — write on: ua.news
US President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reported that discussions on foreign policy issues continue between the Joe Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team, particularly in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
This is reported by Ukrinform.
“We have been communicating with the new administration on a number of foreign policy issues,” Miller said when asked if the current White House administration is communicating with Trump’s team regarding Ukraine.
Miller recalled that Biden personally met with Trump at the White House, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a conversation with Secretary-designate Marco Rubio. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also said he had spoken with his successor several times.
With regard to the negotiations with the Russian Federation, the spokesman of the State Department emphasized that only Ukraine has the right to decide whether and when to start the negotiation process.
“Ukraine is a country that is a victim of Russia’s aggression, and they must decide which way to move forward,” he emphasized.
Trump’s “peace plan” for Ukraine – what is known
On November 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump’s advisers put forward different versions of the plan to effectively freeze the front line in Ukraine. One of them provides for Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO for 20 years.
According to the publication, this plan involves freezing the front line and creating an 800-mile demilitarized zone (almost 1300 km). In addition, it provides for Russia to leave approximately 20% of the territory of Ukraine, which the aggressor country seized.
On November 7, it was reported that the Office of the President of Ukraine doubted the authenticity of this plan.
“In general, we can say that the real plans of presidents are hardly announced in newspapers. And there are always a lot of Russian interjections in the newspapers,” Dmytro Lytvyn, adviser to the president of Ukraine on communication, commented on the publication.
The Economist reported that officials in Ukraine rely on two public formulations of Donald Trump’s “peace plan”.
For its part, The Telegraph reported that Trump’s plan may involve placing European and British troops in a 1,200-kilometer buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies.
On December 4, the Reuters agency, citing informed sources, reported that Trump’s team offered three options for a “peace plan”, none of which included Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO.
On December 7, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, having arrived in Paris for the opening ceremony of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, took part in a tripartite meeting with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
On December 8, Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social social network that Ukraine should “immediately cease fire” and called on Kyiv and Moscow to start negotiations.
Zelensky responded to Trump’s call regarding “an immediate cease-fire,” stressing the need to guarantee the reliability of peace.