Lavrov Criticizes Trump Team’s Ukraine Settlement Plans

Russia has criticized proposals reportedly put forward by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s team regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership and the deployment of European peacekeepers.

Speaking to the Russian news agency TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed dissatisfaction with the suggestions attributed to Trump’s team.

“Judging by numerous leaks and Donald Trump’s own interview with Time magazine on December 12, he is talking about ‘freezing’ hostilities along the line of engagement and transferring further responsibility for confronting Russia to the Europeans,” Lavrov stated.

“We are certainly not satisfied with the proposals made by representatives of the president-elect’s team to postpone Ukraine’s membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a peacekeeping contingent of ‘UK and European forces’ in Ukraine,” he added.

Lavrov also noted that Moscow has not received any official signals from Washington on these matters. He emphasized that Trump, as president-elect, does not yet have the authority to enact policy decisions, which remain under the jurisdiction of the incumbent president and administration.

“Until January 20 – the date of inauguration – Donald Trump has the status of ‘president-elect,’ and all policy on all fronts is determined by the incumbent president and his administration. And so far, only the latter is authorized to engage with Russia on behalf of the United States. From time to time, as we are regularly informed, this happens, but there is no talk of negotiations on Ukraine in such contacts,” Lavrov clarified. 

During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the nearly three-year-old full-scale war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office on January 20, though he has yet to specify how he plans to achieve this. Throughout his campaign, he criticized the Biden administration’s extensive financial and military aid to Ukraine, questioning its relevance to U.S. interests. Trump has also suggested reducing American support for Ukraine, a move that would represent a significant departure from current U.S. policy.

Meanwhile, Russia’s position on its interests in Ukraine, particularly in the Donbas region, remains unwavering. The region has been central to the ongoing war, with Moscow emphasizing its strategic and cultural ties to the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated a willingness to engage in discussions, provided that Kyiv and its Western allies demonstrate a genuine commitment to a peaceful resolution. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has clarified that this willingness to negotiate does not imply any softening of Moscow’s terms.

Trump’s past criticism of NATO may also influence future negotiations. Known for his skeptical stance toward the alliance, Trump could potentially push European allies toward a peace deal with Russia by threatening to reduce U.S. support for NATO. Such a scenario could place additional pressure on Kyiv to negotiate. Some analysts speculate that a Trump-led administration might advocate for a ceasefire or settlement that acknowledges Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its territorial gains in the current war.

Russia controls Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and has since taken approximately 80 percent of the Donbas region – comprising Donetsk and Luhansk – as well as more than 70 percent of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, along with smaller parts of the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.