The former US president brags of being capable to end the conflict in a matter of hours.

Former US president Donald Trump is confident that he could quickly end Russia’s war in Ukraine, if elected to the White House. Speaking in private, Trump said he would pressure the Kyiv government to cede Crimea and the Donbas region to President Vladimir Putin in return for peace, the Washington Post quoted people present at the confidential discussions on the condition of anonymity.

The former president didn’t bother to clarify whether he meant the formal incorporation of the five Ukrainian regions and the redrawing of the international maps, or just the temporary Russian administration.

Trump’s plan also includes limiting the expansion of NATO eastwards and helping Moscow weaken its economic dependence on China.

While the Republican presidential nominee has repeatedly boasted that he could negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, even before taking office, he never revealed details of his plan.

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Privately, Trump has said that he thinks both Russia and Ukraine “want to save face, they want a way out,” and that people in parts of Ukraine would be okay with being part of Russia, the article goes, noting that some of his supporters tried to persuade him against such a scenario.

The former president, who occasionally has expressed his admiration for Putin, has not explained whether he would agree to let the dictator keep the territories already annexed by Russia or whether he would be ok with new land claims. Nor did he specify whether he had ever talked to the Ukrainians about ceding the occupied regions.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has stated on several occasions that he would never negotiate with Putin personally and that his government would not accept surrendering any territory. It is unlikely that Kyiv will agree to Trump’s plan.

Trump’s concessional approach, according to foreign policy experts, would reward the Russian dictator and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force, ultimately encouraging militaristic regimes to attack weaker neighbors.

The mutually-accepted loss of land would demoralize the Ukrainian army and does not guarantee that Russia will stand by the peace agreement instead of using it as a pause to rearm and renew its attempt to conquer all of Ukraine – as Putin promised in 2022 and earlier.

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What is worse, it will send a free-will signal to aggressors around the world that the international order based on rules and mutual respect for sovereignly has lost its main guardian – the United States. The Trump deal would also turn US security agreements with other countries into worthless papers, leaving Taiwan, for example, exposed to an eventual Chinese invasion.

Trump famously said last year that he would encourage Moscow to attack the US’ NATO allies who had failed to contribute a minimum of 2% of their GDP to defense spending.

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