Donald Trump will act with "dizzying speed" if re-elected as President of the United States to put an end to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The details of his plan were revealed by Financial Times.
According to the publication citing one of Trump's advisors, his plan to end the war in Ukraine "may involve a rethinking of the failed Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015." These agreements aimed to ensure Ukraine's territorial integrity while establishing autonomous zones, but the conditions for this were never realized or enforced.
This time, the advisor states, there will be enforcement mechanisms with consequences for violations of the agreement. Control will be exercised by European troops, rather than NATO forces or UN peacekeepers. "America will insist on two things. We will have neither men nor women in the enforcement mechanism. We are not paying for that. Europe pays for it," he said.
Trump's allies argue that Ukraine is losing the war, and therefore the pursuit of a settlement is "morally right." They also believe that Ukraine's NATO membership is not a viable option in the short term.
Former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz, who worked in the Trump administration, believes that Ukraine's NATO membership "could be taken off the agenda for several years to compel Russia to negotiate": "We freeze the conflict, Ukraine does not concede any territory, they do not renounce their territorial claims, and we negotiate with the understanding that there will likely be no final agreement until Putin is off the scene."
However, such an approach would not receive unanimous support within the Republican Party.
Mike Waltz, one of the leading Republican spokespeople on national security in the House of Representatives, speculates that Trump might threaten to collapse the Russian economy by lowering oil and gas prices to force Putin to negotiate.
"The president understands the levers very well, and we have enormous economic leverage over Russia. The first step would be, according to him: 'Flood, baby, flood.' You inundate the world with cheaper and cleaner American oil and gas. You lower the price," he said.
Sources close to Trump insist that he will apply "significant economic pressure" on Putin.
Recall that earlier, Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance outlined a potential plan from the Trump administration to end the war. He stated that the plan could include the establishment of a "demilitarized zone" in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he received "very straightforward information" from Trump that he would support Ukraine in the war if he wins the election. Trump himself noted after the meeting that the war should end with a "fair deal".
However, he later blamed Zelensky for starting the war and claimed that Ukraine had already suffered defeat.