Trump's advisor Lanza: Peace, not territory is priority in Ukraine
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Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser to President-elect Trump, says the incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine, not on reclaiming captured territory.
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Republican President-elect and former US President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP)
A senior advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, Bryan Lanza, stated that the incoming administration will prioritize achieving peace in Ukraine, rather than focusing on territorial restoration.
Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Weekend programme, Lanza emphasized that the Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to present a "realistic vision for peace."
He added that if Zelensky insists that peace can only be achieved by reclaiming Crimea, it would demonstrate a lack of seriousness in negotiations, declaring, "Crimea is gone."
Trump has consistently stated that his priority is ending the war in Ukraine, and addressing what he sees as a drain of US resources through military aid, however, according to BBC's report, he has not yet revealed how he plans to achieve this.
Lanza, in the interview, argued that regaining Crimea from Russia is "unrealistic" and "not the goal of the United States," though he did not address eastern Ukraine specifically.
Lanza explained that if President Zelensky's priority is getting Crimea back and "having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back," then the response to the Ukrainian President's proposition would be "you're on your own."
"What we're going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see? What do you see as a realistic vision for peace. It's not a vision for winning, but it's a vision for peace. And let's start having the honest conversation," he said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, and speaking to The Wall Street Journal, an unnamed National Security Council aide, who previously served under Trump, said, "Anyone - no matter how senior in Trump’s circle - who claims to have a different view or more detailed window into his plans on Ukraine simply doesn’t know what he or she is talking about."
Elon Musk says Trump's plan will soon end Ukraine war
Tech tycoon Elon Musk stated that the bloodshed in Ukraine will soon come to an end, crediting US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed plan to this end.
Trump’s team suggested freezing the war, establishing a demilitarized zone along the frontline, and providing Ukraine with new weapons, contingent upon Kiev agreeing not to join NATO for approximately 20 years, The Wall Street Journal reported on November 6, citing sources.
“The senseless killing will end soon. Time is up for the warmonger profiteers,” Musk wrote on X, responding to a post about Trump's plan for Ukraine.
This comes amid reports that Musk participated in a call between US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the day after the presidential election, according to a source familiar with the matter, as reported by CNN.
Another source mentioned that Trump was with Musk at Mar-a-Lago when Zelensky called to congratulate him. The conversation, described by someone briefed on the call, was positive and cordial. Trump placed the call on speaker, and Zelensky expressed gratitude to Musk for providing Starlink communications to Ukraine during its ongoing war with Russia. The call lasted around seven minutes, with no discussion of policy, CNN reported, citing the same source.
Read more: Pentagon says expects Trump to maintain Biden's Ukraine commitments
