US not ruling out territory trade in Ukraine conflict

It is up to Vladimir Zelensky to decide if and when to give up land to Russia, the US National Security Council spokesman has said

Washington does not rule out the possibility of Ukraine trading land for peace with Russia, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

Following a White House meeting between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Kirby was asked if he agreed there was no way to end the conflict without Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.

"I mean, that is going to be up to him,” he replied, referring to Zelensky.

Kirby said the US administration is focused solely “on making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on that battlefield,” instead of being involved in the “game” of coming up with alternative scenarios and saying, “Gee, maybe we could convince Zelensky to trade this for that.”

“If and when and how this war ends, it is got to be in a way that... Zelensky and the Ukrainian people can accept. He gets to decide the conditions. He gets to decide the circumstances. And if there is trade space, he gets to decide what that trade space is,” he said.

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Kirby confirmed that Biden “would very much like to see the war ended as soon as possible,” but stressed that Kiev was not getting directions from the White House on what peace talks should look like.

The US president announced another $8 billion in military assistance to Ukraine during his meeting with Zelensky in the oval office. Biden also thanked the Ukrainian leader for presenting him his plan for “victory” over Russia.

The details have not been made public, but Kirby said that the proposal includes “initiatives and steps and objectives” that Zelensky believes could end the conflict and deter Moscow in the future.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was ready to stop the fighting and begin talks with Ukraine if Kiev officially gave up its desire to join NATO and withdrew from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, which joined Russia after referendums in the fall of 2022.

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Zelensky rejected the offer, branding it an “ultimatum.” The Kremlin said those terms were no longer on the table after Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in early August.