UK claims Trump has Easter target for Ukraine peace deal
The incoming administration has reassessed its time frame for potentially resolving the conflict, according to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy
The team of incoming US President Donald Trump has reassessed its time frame for reaching a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told journalists on Thursday. The Financial Times also reported, citing European officials, that Trump’s team is yet to narrow down its options for how to approach negotiations.
Trump no longer expects to strike an agreement between Russia and Ukraine immediately after his inauguration on January 20, Lammy said, adding that such an outcome “is now unlikely.”
Trump has promised on several occasions to achieve a negotiated settlement of the Ukraine conflict in just one day. Initially, he claimed he would be able to do it even before his inauguration. In December, he said that he would wait for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after taking office to end the ongoing hostilities.
Speaking to journalists at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this week, the US president-elect said he could need up to six months after taking office to help Moscow and Kiev reach a deal but expressed hope that it could be done sooner.
“There had been a slight pushback in Washington that a deal can be achieved on January 21,” Lammy said, commenting on the issue on Thursday. “We have heard the timetable has moved to Easter,” he stated. Both the Western- and Eastern-rite churches will celebrate Easter on April 20 this year.
However, Trump’s team still does not have a specific plan on how to put an end to the conflict, according to the Financial Times. The incoming administration also does not want to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors and create a scene similar to the US hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 under President Joe Biden, the outlet reported on Thursday, citing two European officials.
“The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they’re recalibrating the Ukraine approach,” the sources told the paper.
Lammy also told journalists that he was “absolutely clear Donald Trump is an individual who wants a deal, but he is also an individual who sees himself as a winner and not a loser.”
Earlier, Trump’s special envoy on the Ukraine conflict, retired US Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, told Fox News that he would like to set himself a 100-day deadline for reaching an agreement between Moscow and Kiev.
Russia welcomed Trump’s desire to restore contacts with Moscow on Thursday. The Russian president “has repeatedly spoken about his readiness for a dialogue” and the need for it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In December, Putin told a press conference that he was ready to meet and talk with Trump. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it wanted to arrive at a sustainable and lasting solution to the conflict instead of simply freezing it.
