WSJ: Trump team considers forcing Ukraine to suspend NATO bid for 20 years

Advisers close to US President-elect Donald Trump have put forth different proposals for how to resolve the ongoing Russia’s war in Ukraine. This includes a plan that would effectively freeze the war in place, Wall Street Journal says, citing sources from Trump’s team.

Experts and Ukrainian officials previously warned on multiple occasions that freezing the war would be a victory for Russia, allowing it to solidify its control over occupied areas of Ukraine and giving time to reconstitute its forces and prepare them for further invasion. Since the outset of the full-scale invasion, Russian officials have continually stressed that the Kremlin’s goal is Ukraine’s de facto capitulation, loss of independence, and abandonment of NATO aspirations.

The WSJ reports that one idea proposed within Trump’s transition office would involve Ukraine promising not to join NATO for at least 20 years. In exchange, the US would reportedly continue to provide Ukraine with weapons and other military aid to deter future Russian aggression.

Under this proposal, the current front lines in the war would essentially be locked in place, with both Ukraine and Russia agreeing to “an 800-mile demilitarized zone” along the frontline. The Wall Street Journal notes that the details of who would police this demilitarized zone remain unclear, but one adviser said it would not involve American troops or funding from a US-backed international body like the United Nations.

“We can do training and other support, but the barrel of the gun is going to be European,” a member of Trump’s team told the WSJ. “We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine. And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.“

This proposal appears to echo comments made by VP-elect JD Vance during a September interview, in which he suggested a final agreement between Ukraine and Russia could involve a heavily fortified demilitarized zone that would allow Russia to keep the land it has already seized, while assuring Ukraine’s neutrality and preventing it from joining NATO.

Another plan proposed to Trump earlier this year by former members of his first White House administration, Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, called for withholding weapons from Ukraine until Kyiv agrees to peace talks with Russia. Under this blueprint, Ukraine could still attempt to regain lost territory, but would have to do it diplomatically rather than militarily.

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