Trump’s new team able to ensure success of peace initiative for Ukraine – Herbst

This inion was expressed in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform by former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, John Herbst.

"Trump has laid out elements of a peace plan which could serve as the basis for a sustainable peace and some of those elements are not ideal from Ukraine's point of view," the former ambassador said.

He clarified that he meant, in particular, the possibility of a territorial compromise and a 20-year moratorium on Ukraine’s NATO membership. However, other elements “could serve as the basis for a peace which enables Ukraine to survive in an economically viable way with secure borders,” Herbst believes.

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According to Herbst, this applies, in particular, to prosals for arming Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression, as well as the creation of a demilitarized zone in which Eurean tros would be deployed to significantly reduce the possibility of renewed Russian aggression.

At the same time, the ex-ambassador positively assessed the choice of nominees for key positions related to national security. Herbst referred to them as “serious national security thinkers”. According to him, this primarily concerns Mike Waltz, nominated for the position of national security adviser, General Keith Kellogg, who is to become the U.S. special representative for Ukraine and Russia, candidate for the position of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others.

They “understand that Russia is an aggressive power that considers the US its principle adversary. Therefore, his (Trump’s – ed.) team understands that Putin victory in Ukraine is dangerous,” said Herbst.

The expert expressed his belief that this team "could provide specific picy ideas under which Trump's peace initiative could prove successful".

The chief of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council also recalled that there is a prospect for the U.S. president-elect to receive the Nobel Peace Prize if the peace initiative for Ukraine proves successful. However, if settlement negotiations fail, this could have worse consequences than the withdrawal of tros from Afghanistan for Biden. According to Herbst, Trump's team obviously understands this.

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“This gives Trump an incentive to devel a peace plan that ensures a durable peace — including economic security and secure borders,” Herbst concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, this week, the Ukrainian delegation met with high-ranking representatives from the Trump team responsible for shaping U.S. picy on Ukraine.