Vance Ramps Up Pressure On Ukraine With Peace Plan That 'Sharply Favors Russia'

Vice President JD Vance while traveling in India on Wednesday issued some new and provocative remarks on the prospect of Ukraine peace, and Washington's demands related to ending the war.

The NY Times headlined is coverage of Vance's new remarks by somewhat disparagingly calling it a "Plan for Ukraine That Sharply Favors Russia" — given that it calls for 'freezing' the front lines, which would leave Russian forces in control of the majority of the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine.

The Vice President reiterated to reporters that the United States would "walk away" from engaging in a peace process if both Ukraine and Russia refused to accept the American terms. The NY Times concludes, "But President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was clearly the target."

"We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process," Vance told the press pool. "The only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine."

Here is the brief list of basics that Washington is demanding for its outline of peace:

—a "freeze" of territorial lines in the three-plus year war

—no path to NATO membership for Ukraine

—formal recognition of Russia holding Crimea

But it was only yesterday that Ukraine's President Zelensky said he has rejected the possibility of ceding over Crimea, after the Trump administration reportedly offered this 'gift' to Putin of US recognition of Russian sovereignty over the strategic peninsula which has long been home to the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet.

According to Ukrainian media:

Ukraine will not legally recognize Russia's occupation of Crimea under any circumstances, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a briefing in Kyiv on April 22.

"There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," Zelensky told reporters.

Zelensky added, "As soon as talks about Crimea and our sovereign territories begin, the talks enter the format that Russia wants - prolonging the war - because it will not be possible to agree on everything quickly."

Kiev has also recently accused Moscow of using negotiations as a smokescreen, also coming off the 30-hour Easter truce, which saw both sides accuse the other of many violations.

Commenting further of Vance's fresh remarks, the NY Times writes, "It was the first time a U.S. official had publicly laid out a cease-fire deal in such stark terms and the comments appeared designed to increase pressure on Ukraine, which has long refused to accept Russia’s claims on its lands, particularly in Crimea."

Ukraine is meanwhile telling its Western backers that it is "ready to negotiate, but not to surrender." According to fresh words of Ukraine’s vice PM Yulia Svyrydenko, "There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger foundations it needs to regroup and return with greater violence. A full ceasefire—on land, in the air, and at sea—is the necessary first step. If Russia opts for a limited pause, Ukraine will respond in kind."

Something like this was just tried as part of the 30-hour Easter ceasefire, with apparent limited success. But Svyrydenko also hit back at Washington, saying "But our people will not accept a frozen conflict disguised as peace." The high-ranking official has laid out the following key points of Ukraine's position:

—Open to negotiations, but not surrender 

—No deal to allow Russia to regroup for future aggression

—Full ceasefire (land, air, sea) required as first step

—No “frozen conflict” masked as peace

—No Ukraine recognition of Crimea as Russian

—If no NATO membership, must get strong, binding security guarantees

The reality remains that if Zelensky can't so much as admit that Crimea will be permanently in Russia's hands, with no hope of Kiev ever getting it back, the prospect of a peace settlement happening anytime soon seems very remote. Moscow has made clear it will never give Crimea over to Ukraine, after the 2014 referendum, and most Western officials recognize this as a reality as well.

This is why the White House is willing to let go of Ukrainian claims on Crimea as well, given it is a realistic first step and major, pragmatic concession toward potentially ending the conflict.