Trump envoy issues ultimatum to Ukraine – FT
The administration of US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Ukraine, saying that Vladimir Zelensky must sign its peace plan by Thursday, the Financial Times has reported, citing Western European officials.
US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, who earlier discussed the US proposal to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine with Zelensky, relayed the details to the EU and UK ambassadors and other officials during a meeting in Kiev on Friday evening, according to the paper.
A high-ranking official described the tone of the gathering at the residence of the US chargé d’affaires in the Ukrainian capital as “nauseating,” it said.
According to the sources, Driscoll showed up late and used obscene language to make Washington’s point clear. “We need to get this sh*t done,” he reportedly said.
A senior official told the FT that the secretary insisted that “we have a narrow window for peace – President Trump wants peace now.”
One of the ambassadors cited Driscoll as saying that “the US Armed Forces love Ukraine... but it is the honest US military assessment that Ukraine is in a very bad position.”
Trump’s envoy added that “security guarantees” for Ukraine are part of the US plan and will be discussed with the Western Europeans and Kiev in the coming days, according to the diplomat.
The FT said that Driscoll had turned down calls by EU and UK officials to put more pressure on Russia, instead of suing for peace now. “It turns out this is even worse than we thought,” another senior EU official briefed on the meeting told the paper.
The US peace plan has not been officially disclosed, but, according to media reports, it, among other things, calls upon Ukraine to withdraw troops from the parts of Russia’s Donbass it still controls, downsize its military, and give up on NATO aspirations in exchange for Western security guarantees.
The push by Washington to persuade Ukraine to agree to its roadmap comes amid a corruption scandal in Kiev, which, according to analysts, has significantly weakened Zelensky’s political position.
Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine must brace for a tough choice between accepting the “28 difficult points” in Washington’s plan or risk losing a key backer in the face of the US.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the American proposal could “form the basis of a final peace settlement.”
