The peace plan for the war in Ukraine put forward by a pro-Trump think tank has been widely criticized for running Putin’s business.
– It is very difficult to imagine that it would be acceptable either for Ukraine, or for the majority of Europe, says Joakim Paasikivi to SvD.
Donald Trump has promised a quick end to the war in Ukraine if he is elected president of the United States in the November 5 election.
It is not the first time that the former president and now presidential candidate has spoken about the matter. During the conservative CPAC 2023 conference, Trump said that he is the only one who can prevent a third world war and that it would not take “more than a day” for him to end the war.
The peace plan was put forward by the pro-Trump think tank America First Policy Institute and was written by Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, two former advisers to Trump during his time in the White House.
“Uphill for Ukraine”
According to co-author Kellogg, getting Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table quickly is crucial if Trump wins.
“To the Ukrainians, we say: you must come to the negotiating table, otherwise the support from the United States will come. To Putin we say: You have to come to the negotiating table, or we will give the Ukrainians whatever it takes to kill you in the field,” says Kellogg.
The plan has been accused from several quarters of running Russian President Vladimir Putin’s affairs.
“Kellogg describes a process that is an uphill battle for Ukraine and forces them to give up all the territory that Russia occupies,” says Daniel Fried, who previously worked with Russia affairs at the US State Department.
“Bizarre”
The plan is also accused of being too driven by US domestic politics and the upcoming US presidential election.
– It’s bizarre. It is not a plan, but this is part of the election campaign to get Trump elected president, says Joakim Paasikivi, lieutenant colonel and teacher of military strategy at the Norwegian Defense Academy, to SvD.
The plan is also criticized by Jan Hallenberg, associate senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute, for believing in rational negotiations with Putin that hold.
– Putin negotiates or doesn’t negotiate, and then, after a number of months, he goes back to war, says Jan Hallenberg to SvD.