US peace plan has 'no logic' and could be 'media noise', security experts say

Experts say a 28-point U.S.-proposed peace plan is completely unacceptable to Ukraine and may simply be media noise or an attempt by Russia to keep Washington engaged in the process to evade more sanctions.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the U.S. and Russia had prepared a new framework peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. It would require significant concessions from Ukraine, including giving up territory it still controls and dramatically cutting the size of its military, the BBC wrote. Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan.
Allegedly, the plan was supposed to be presented on Wednesday in Turkey to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. However, the meeting was postponed after it became clear that the Ukrainians would under no circumstances agree to the proposal.
Estonian security experts commented on the news on Thursday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."

"It's very hard to imagine that Ukraine could go along with this at all, because if you are being asked to reduce your forces by two and a half times, if you are being told you cannot possess certain types of weapons that could reach slightly farther into Russian territory, if you are being asked to essentially give up your sovereignty... Ukraine simply cannot go along with points like these," said security expert Raivo Vare.
It has also been reported that the plan calls for territorial concessions from Ukraine, which Russia has repeatedly demanded in the past.
Former Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary general and security expert Rainer Saks said the plan may be an American attempt to put something on the table to initiate broader discussion.
"These two sides cannot even remotely align their visions into something resembling a plan unless one side runs out of strength on the battlefield. For that reason, I would say the U.S. is trying this approach, but whether what we are seeing in the media is actually the plan in question or just some kind of noise, it is very hard to make a final judgment," he told the show.

Even if the U.S. had seriously intended to approach Ukraine with such a plan, Saks believes that the bubble has now burst following the leaks to the media.
He stressed that Americans have recently put Russia under considerable pressure, making a peace plan leaning toward Russia difficult to understand.
"This could have been agreed on without building up that pressure, because Russia is essentially on board with most of these points, just to impose them on Ukraine. Honestly, I do not see a strong logic connecting the various elements here, and the question of who is creating this media noise is a separate issue," Saks said.
What is clear, however, is that Russia is once again trying to show the Americans that it is ready for peace.
Vare said: "Russia's goal, if nothing else, is at least to keep Trump and the American administration involved in the negotiation process, so they do not pull out because then sanctions will follow."

At the same time, achieving peace in Ukraine remains extremely important for Trump, believes Igor Gretski, a researcher at the International Center for Defense and Security.
He believes several developments in recent weeks have weakened Ukraine's position in the eyes of the U.S., including a corruption scandal.
"Trump believes that Ukraine has become weaker and has increased the pressure on them. If we look at what has leaked to the media from the 28-point plan, it includes even more acceptance of Russia's wishes and demands than before," the researcher said.
"A pattern is emerging: every two or three months, [U.S. Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff or Trump himself puts pressure on Zelenskyy, proposing some plan with conditions that are completely unacceptable to Kyiv. And then there's a rebound," Gretski noted.
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Editor: Helen Wright, Johanna Alvin
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera










