The Ukraine is unlikely to become a NATO member in the near future, and the current positions of the conflict parties will remain frozen. This is a possible option for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which is being considered by advisors to the incoming US President, Donald Trump, according to Reuters sources.
They also support the provision of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine. One of the possible options is the creation of a demilitarized zone, which would be patrolled by European troops.
Reuters reported that this option is supported by “most of Trump’s top advisors”.
Ukraine insists on being admitted to NATO, but the country’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, claimed that membership could extend to the territories controlled by Kiev. He also emphasized that the country should receive security guarantees. Ukrainian authorities have no intention of officially giving up their claims to the lost territories.
Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the renunciation of Ukraine’s NATO membership, and the international recognition of the new territories – the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol as Russian, among other things – in order to achieve a ceasefire and the start of negotiations.
Trump’s advisors give “months or even longer” for the conflict’s resolution. The promise of the incoming President to resolve the conflict on the first day was described by Reuters sources as “a combination of election campaign rhetoric, a lack of understanding of the intractability of the conflict, and the time needed for the formation of a new government”.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the conflict in Ukraine is a too complex issue to be resolved in a day, as the Republican had promised.
Trump had appointed a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, who said on January 9 that he would set a personal and professional deadline of 100 days to achieve results in resolving the conflict.