Politico: US seems to want to present new peace plan to Zelenskiy as a fait accompli

The United States appears to be planning to present the terms of a new peace plan to president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a fait accompli, stated politico after talking to officials of the US presidential Administration of Donald Trump.

A senior White House official said that they expect all sides to agree on a framework for ending the war by the end of November, and possibly "as early as this week."

However, Politico notes that this new peace plan does not seem to take into account the views of Ukraine and American allies in Europe: "And we have no sense yet of the details, of what’s been hammered out on the thorniest questions around Russia’s seizure of vast swathes of Ukrainian territory, the kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children or the security guarantees being offered to Ukraine in the aftermath."

However, the White House is "bullish," and it looks like the plan will be presented to Zelenskyy as a fait accompli, the media reports.

"What we are going to present [to Ukraine] is reasonable," the official said.

According to the Trump administration, Zelenskyy, who is under pressure as on the battlefield, and on the home front through the deployment of corruption scandal, will be forced to accept what is offered to him, the publication reports.

As for the partners, the source noted that the American authorities "don't really care about the Europeans," adding that "It’s about Ukraine accepting."

White House officials believe that right now, given the corruption scandals that plague its president and where the front lines are, Ukraine is in a position where the United States can force it to accept the deal, a Politico journalist said after speaking with officials.

"They say it’s reasonable; it’s something that is, they believe, going to be palatable to Ukraine," she added.

As for what happens next, the publication points out that we need to hear the details of the agreement and Ukraine's response.

"Based on past statements, Zelenskyy is likely to push back hard on any aspects of a deal he deems unpalatable. Ukraine will not want to be bounced into giving away sovereign territory; but the pressure brought to bear will be intense. And if the three sides can reach an agreement, that previously postponed Trump- [Russian dictator] Putin summit will surely follow," Politico said.

• Earlier, Axios cited anonymous US and Russian officials as saying that the Trump administration was secretly consulting with Moscow to develop a new plan to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. The dictator's special envoy Dmitriev said that "we feel that the Russian position is really being heard."
• Meanwhile, on November 19, Zelenskyy arrived in Turkey for talks with Erdoğan to achieve peace.