Exclusive: Trump handed plan to halt US military aid to Kyiv unless it talks peace with Moscow

Reuters ^ | 06/25/2024 | Gram Slattery and Simon Lewis

[SeekAndFind]

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine - if he wins the Nov. 5 presidential election - that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks. The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would result in increased U.S. support for Ukraine, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, one of Trump's national security advisers, said in an interview.

Under the plan drawn up by Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump's National Security Council during his 2017-2021 presidency, there would be a ceasefire based on prevailing battle lines during peace talks, Fleitz said.

They have presented their strategy to Trump, and the Republican presidential candidate responded favorably, Fleitz added. "I'm not claiming he agreed with it or agreed with every word of it, but we were pleased to get the feedback we did," he said.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said only statements made by Trump or authorized members of his campaign should be deemed official.

The strategy outlined by Kellogg and Fleitz is the most detailed plan yet by associates of Trump, who has said he could quickly settle the war in Ukraine if he beats President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, though he has not said how he would do that.

The proposal would mark a big shift in the U.S. position on the war and would face opposition from European allies and within Trump's own Republican Party.

The Kremlin said any peace plan proposed by a possible future Trump administration would have to reflect the reality on the ground but that Russian President Vladimir Putin remained open to talks.

[No.6]

This seems to be the prelude to Russia Russia Russia part II.

Trump has long said he’d end the war. With this story, the MSM will try and claim he had no plan until he was given one, and it’s no doubt already in the works to label them as Putin lackies, which makes Trump one. Voila, if you like Trump, you’re a Putin stooge.

Lame and puerile, but that’s what’s left to the Never Trump and Ever War crowd.

[toddausauras]

Seems like a reasonable plan in theory. The neocons and their cheerleaders in the media are going to freak out about this.

[Vigilanteman]

They war party (on both sides) have always been happy to send somebody else’s young men through the meat grinder to stay in power.

[Waverunner]

Carrot and Stick
Carrot = end of war
Stick = no honest negotiations, better armed Ukraine
Sounds reasonable as an opening move.

[MinorityRepublican]

The proposal would mark a big shift in the U.S. position on the war and would face opposition from European allies

If they're not happy with the Americans, they are welcome to step up to the plate.

Seems like there's a lot of capability, especially from Germany and France.

[Dogbert41]

Sorry, but not only ‘NO’, but “HELL NO!!!”

Why hasn’t he learned his lesson yet? These bastard Deep State war mongering generals will see him hanged yet!

[SaveFerris]

[They war party (on both sides) have always been happy to send somebody else’s young men through the meat grinder to stay in power.]

What Raymond Shaw doink?

Business is good at Manchurian Global (The Manchurian Candidate 2004)

https://youtu.be/3hHsiRi7Hac?si=QkH8gdp5gwTHxsah&t=57

(I started it mid-stream to avoid a bit of language)

Meryl Streep IS Hillary Rodham Clinton here

Jon Voight is awesome, as usual

Same with Liev Schrieber and Denzel Washington

Captain Marco is Major Marco, though. He’s no longer a Captain.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Old news, but has to be posted again to gaslight the rubes.

Remember Reuters has a standing agreement to publish material generated by TASS.

[Texan4Life]

Beware the UniParty and the MIC!

[Williams]

Plan sounds fine to me.

[nathanbedford]

President Biden believes that any decisions about negotiations are up to Ukraine," said NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

Were decisions about the manner of withdrawing from Afghanistan "up to" our Afghan allies, our NATO allies in Afghanistan or were these people, and many Americans besides, betrayed and abandoned by Biden?

Are decisions about the pursuit of Hamas "up to" the Israeli government free of pressure from the United States government?

Biden's clumsy duplicity has encouraged our enemies and alarmed our allies.

Now enter Trump's agents with a trial balloon that can be denied by Trump's campaign if necessary but which seems certainly to be an intelligent and reasoned approach to an otherwise insoluble problem.

A stick and carrot to Ukraine, if you don't negotiate we will leave you to your fate but if Ukraine participates we will ensure its defense.

A carrot and a stick to Russia, the prospect of ending a war seeming without end, the ending of sanctions that appeared to be beginning to bite, the postponement of Ukraine becoming part of NATO; coupled with the stick of massively increasing US support for Ukraine on the battlefield.

Obviously the carrots and sticks for and against both parties are essential and no element on either side may be dropped or the whole process fails.

Of course Ukraine and Russia, each from their own perspective, will restate their long announced war aims. To do otherwise would be to forfeit negotiating power but the general line of settlement, while not perfect for either side, at least preserves Ukraine as a nation and ends seemingly endless bloodshed and drain of Western treasuries. It might also put brakes on a very dangerous coalition building between Russia and China that includes Iranian and other Muslim interests.

Trump can carry this off but Biden, the author of the disgraceful Afghanistan debacle, manifestly can not.

It is a wrong apprehension of Donald Trump's policies, regrettably to be found too often in this forum, that Trump opposes any and all foreign wars. Trump wants a foreign policy to advance American national interests which are not to be confused with either appeasement or with a sellout to our defense/industrial complex.

I believe that when Trump gains office on 20, January he will have inherited a giant stinking turd and find himself in a foot race to save the economy before it disintegrates. He must get the deficit under control so that the debt crisis can be delayed and hopefully averted or he will have no foreign policy, no industrial base, no military-industrial complex worthy of the name and no effective military. In short, he must turn the country around and save it or see the end of our constitutional democracy.

The war in Ukraine and the Cold War with China of which Taiwan is a looming symptom, are but two identifiable problems that must be solved in the context of the deficit, the debt and the economy if the country is to be saved.

This plan is a reasonable step.

[tennmountainman]

The Zeeper Freepers here will be outraged over this logical plan.
A plan to end the War.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Ask any diplomat who has any experience negotiating with Russians and they will tell you that Russians never, never, NEVER negotiate in good faith.

As one of them put it: "you get an agreement that they will stop parking their car in your yard, and next morning they've parked a truck in your yard".

[EQAndyBuzz]

It would be easier to tell both Russia and Ukraine that if there isn’t a ceasefire within 24 hours, Trump’s energy policy will bankrupt both countries.

[Grzegorz 246]

“...Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks. The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would result in increased U.S. support for Ukraine”

OK but the key issue here is what to do when:

- rus will say they want to keep the land they have conquered,
- Ukes will demand getting back to 1991 borders or at least to 2022 borders.

End of peace talks. What's then ?

[Socon-Econ]

Not good enough — cut it off on day 1.

[logi_cal869]

Well, but of course.

If he’s smart, he’ll take option B:

Defund the uke folly and let the chips fall.

‘They’ only want to save their little enclave.

[ConservativeMind]

Ukraine does not deserve the land back, if it could not ramp up any defense to Russia, since 2012.

Even Ukrainian men won’t fight for their country, so why should we?

[Grzegorz 246]

“Ukraine does not deserve the land back, if it could not ramp up any defense to Russia, since 2012.

Even Ukrainian men won’t fight for their country, so why should we?”

Given their performance in this conflict, your post is a joke.