Trump team's new approach: Prioritize peace over Crimea
A senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump announced that the new administration would focus on achieving peace in the Ukraine war rather than reclaiming territory. "And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he's not serious," stated Bryan Lanza.
Bryan Lanza, a Republican Party strategist, told the BBC that the Trump administration will ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to present a "realistic vision for peace."
Ukraine must come to terms with the loss of Crimea
"And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he's not serious," Lanza said.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Eight years later, it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and seized territory in the east of the country.
Trump has already spoken with Zelensky after his election victory. The pair had a phone conversation on Wednesday, in which billionaire Elon Musk also participated.
A source in Ukraine's presidential office told the BBC that the "good lengthy conversation" between Zelensky and Trump lasted "about half an hour," BBC reports. "It was not really a conversation to talk about very substantial things, but overall it was very warm and pleasant," the interlocutor added.
Trump wants to quickly end the war
Trump has consistently stated that his priority is to end the war and reduce U.S. spending on the conflict.
His Democratic Party opponents accused him of being too favorable towards Russian President Vladimir Putin and argued that his approach to the war amounts to capitulation to Ukraine and poses a threat to all of Europe.
Last month, Zelensky presented a "victory plan" to the Ukrainian parliament, which included the refusal to cede Ukrainian territories and sovereignty.
During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine "in a day" but did not provide details on how he intended to do it. A document written in May by two of his former national security chiefs suggested that the U.S. should continue to provide Ukraine with weapons but make support conditional on the start of peace talks with Russia.
It stated that Ukraine should not abandon hope of regaining all its territory from Russian occupation, but should negotiate based on the current front lines.
Crimea "is not a goal of the United States"
Lanza did not comment on the eastern Ukrainian territories but said that Ukraine regaining Crimea is unrealistic and "is not the goal of the United States."
"When Zelensky says we will only stop this fighting, there will only be peace once Crimea is returned, we've got news for President Zelensky: Crimea is gone," Lanza said on the BBC World Service's Weekend program. "And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you're on your own," he added.
Lanza expressed great respect for the Ukrainian people, describing them as having "the heart of lions." However, he noted that the priority for the U.S. is "peace and to stop the killing."
Criticism of Biden and Europe
Lanza also criticized the support that the Biden administration and European countries have given Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"The reality on the ground is that the European nation states and President Biden did not give Ukraine the ability and the arms to win this war at the very beginning and they failed to lift the restrictions for Ukraine to win," he said.
The United States has been the largest supplier of arms to Ukraine. From February 2022 to the end of June 2024, it has supplied or committed to supplying weapons and equipment worth 55.5 billion dollars.
