WP details US proposal for Ukraine, including recognition of Crimea as Russian

The United States will present a proposal recognising Russia's annexation of Crimea and freezing the zone of combat as part of a peace agreement during talks in London, aimed at discussing steps towards a ceasefire in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Source: an article by The Washington Post (WP), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sources told the WP that the US proposals presented to Ukraine in Paris last week include Washington's official recognition of the annexed Crimea as Russian territory and the lifting of sanctions against Russia as part of a future agreement.

In exchange for this, the US believes that Moscow should cease military operations in Ukraine, the WP reports.

An unnamed adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the US proposals contain some ideas that Kyiv agrees with and others that it does not.

One Western official described the amount of pressure on Ukraine from the US as "astounding".

A US State Department spokesperson denied that Washington was presenting Kyiv with a fait accompli, the WP writes. However, the article notes that the Trump administration's growing dissatisfaction with the pace of negotiations has led Kyiv to fear a new shift in relations with Washington.

Envoys from France, the UK, and Germany are expected to insist that any deal include security guarantees and post-war recovery programmes, possibly funded in part by proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

Privately, European and Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to regain control of Russian-held territory shortly. At best, they aim to delay any peace deal that would allow Moscow to retain the land it has occupied while securing an end to sanctions.

Last week, during talks in Paris, the United States presented Ukraine with an outline of its proposals, which Ukrainians viewed as Washington's final attempt before it considers abandoning the peace process, according to two sources.

The US proposal in Paris, which includes recognising Crimea as Russian, follows a visit by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East, to Moscow this month, where he held an hours-long meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

One person briefed on the proposal described it as "Witkoff's idea" that the United States recognise Crimea as Russian, "without forcing Ukraine to recognise it".

The US State Department declined to comment on the specific proposals presented to the negotiators.

"The only document shared in Paris was a list of potential options for discussion and feedback," an official said.

In recent weeks, European leaders have become more actively involved in the peace talks, marking an improvement over the Trump team's initial discussions with the Russians in Saudi Arabia, which did not even include Ukrainians. Now, London and other allies will be seeking ways to leverage their influence in Ukraine's favour.

As the WP notes, Europe holds some leverage, including billions in confiscated or frozen Russian assets that could be returned or used to fund post-war recovery programmes.

Background: 

• Meanwhile, the European Union is suggesting a coordinated way for member states to strengthen their sanctions programme.
• On 21 April, Trump announced that he would reveal the content of his proposed peace plan for the Russo-Ukrainian war this week.
• The US, Ukraine, and its European allies will meet in London on 23 April to discuss steps to bring about a ceasefire in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
• The Ukrainian delegation will include Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President; Defence Minister Rustem Umierov; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Yermak’s deputy Pavlo Palisa.

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