Trump Sets Thanksgiving Deadline for Ukraine to Accept Controversial Peace Plan with Russia

Donald Trump and Ukraine's Zelensky last met in October in the Oval Office at the White House.

Washington:

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Ukraine to accept his administration's proposed peace plan that would end the war with Russia by ceding territory, stating bluntly that President Zelensky will "have to like it."

When reporters questioned Zelensky's reluctant response to the proposal, Trump remarked, "He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting."

During his Oval Office meeting with New York City's future mayor Zohran Mamdani, Trump added, "At some point he's going to have to accept something."

Zelensky responded firmly on Friday, rejecting the American plan and declaring he would not "betray" his country over the 28-point document, which Kyiv views as highly favorable to Moscow's interests.

The 79-year-old Republican president has grown increasingly impatient with the lack of resolution to the conflict that began with Russia's February 2022 invasion and is now pushing for accelerated negotiations.

Earlier Friday, Trump established November 27 – American Thanksgiving – as the deadline for Ukraine to accept his administration's peace proposal.

"I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines. But Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time," Trump explained during a Fox News Radio interview.

According to a draft obtained by AFP, the plan would require Ukraine to surrender significant eastern territory to Russia and reduce its military forces substantially.

Additionally, Kyiv would commit to never joining NATO and would not receive the Western peacekeepers they requested, although European military aircraft would be stationed in neighboring Poland.

Trump asserted that continued fighting would ultimately result in Ukraine losing the same territories they would surrender under his peace plan anyway.

"Say what you want, they were very brave," he acknowledged regarding Ukrainian forces fighting against Russian troops.

When questioned about the possibility of Russia attacking other European countries following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Republican leader responded that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is not looking for more war."

Trump also claimed Putin was "taking punishment" for a conflict that has continued for nearly four years when, as the US president added, it "was supposed to be a one-day war."