Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Trump's plan wont bring peace to Ukraine - Ukrainian Canadian Congress CEO

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Trump's plan wont bring peace to Ukraine - Ukrainian Canadian Congress CEO · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: US President Donald Trump says progress is being made on
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: a Ukraine Russia peace steal.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: We're working on that final war. It's not easy, but
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  Speaker 2: I don't know. I think we're we're going to get there.
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  Speaker 2: Twenty five thousand soldiers Ukraine Russia. In the last month,
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  Speaker 2: twenty five thousand soldiers have died. So I think we're
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  Speaker 2: getting very close to a deal. We'll find out.
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  Speaker 1: Donald Trump proposed his twenty eight point piece plan last week.
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  Speaker 1: He has since said that the plan has been fine
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  Speaker 1: tuned and that only a few points of disagreement remain now.
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  Speaker 1: The original US proposal, drafted without Ukraine or Europe at
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  Speaker 1: the table, required Ukraine to give up parts of its
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  Speaker 1: land along the eastern border with Russia. You can see
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  Speaker 1: the current war frontline on this map. The regents highlighted
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  Speaker 1: and read would potentially be ceded to Russia. Ihor Michael
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  Speaker 1: Chishen is the CEO of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. We've
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  Speaker 1: spoken to him throughout this conflict and he joints US.
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  Speaker 1: Now your hor's good to see again.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for the invitation.
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  Speaker 1: The US and Ukrainian representatives they met over the weekend
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  Speaker 1: of the White House called it highly productive of and
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  Speaker 1: resulted in a refined peace framework. What's your assessment of
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  Speaker 1: this peace plan.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we're down from twenty eight to twenty three to
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  Speaker 3: I think now nineteen. I think the positive is that
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  Speaker 3: Ukraine is part of the conversation, part of the direct negotiations,
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  Speaker 3: pushing back against the American pressure and as Zelenski has said,
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  Speaker 3: as we have said, you know, occupation of that map,
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  Speaker 3: as you showed, does not peace and that would not
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  Speaker 3: be an acceptable piece for the Ukrainian people and that's
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  Speaker 3: not why they're fighting. So I think the pressure needs
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  Speaker 3: to be on Russia. And it's a bizarre situation where
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  Speaker 3: we see the American administration, you know, copying and pasting
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  Speaker 3: Russian and demands from three years ago and floating them again.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at what was reported about
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  Speaker 1: the plan, and this is from the New York Times
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  Speaker 1: November twenty second, I mean, it's give up the territory,
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  Speaker 1: have an election within one hundred days because they want
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  Speaker 1: to Linky out of office, the Russian Zoo, never join NATO,
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  Speaker 1: limited and uncertain security guarantees from the US and Europe,
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  Speaker 1: and in return Russia gets the land, gets amnesty, gets
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  Speaker 1: to rejoin the G eight. That that is a reality
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  Speaker 1: that seems difficult given the posture and foreign policy of
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  Speaker 1: Western countries, with the exception of the Trump led United
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  Speaker 1: States over the last number of years.
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  Speaker 3: Definitely, we've seen today this coalition of the Willing, which
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  Speaker 3: Canada is part of, you know, intervene the EU, you know,
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  Speaker 3: last week and throughout the weekend have been there as
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  Speaker 3: Ukraine's partners, and uh, you know, many of these negotiated
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  Speaker 3: points don't involve Ukraine. Uh and and uh, you know,
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  Speaker 3: rejoining agree to any of those things, and NATO decisions
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  Speaker 3: and EU decisions and and frankly, Russia hasn't you know,
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  Speaker 3: even agree to any of these things either. We know
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  Speaker 3: it's their wish list, but it's it's it's just a
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  Speaker 3: really cynical process, uh, you know. And meanwhile, what we
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  Speaker 3: see happening every night in Ukraine, you know, is hundreds
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  Speaker 3: of people are being you know, bombed and killed, doesn't
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  Speaker 3: killed last night before, in every major city in Ukraine.
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  Speaker 3: Russia continues unabated to terrorize Ukraine's people and kidnap Ukrainian children,
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  Speaker 3: and nothing that anyone can do with stopping them from
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  Speaker 3: doing that.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I know this is potentially the foundation of
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  Speaker 1: ending the conflict right, which is a good thing in
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  Speaker 1: and of itself. But is Ukraine really more secure at
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  Speaker 1: the end of something like this, because official neutrality essentially
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  Speaker 1: becomes part of its structure going forward there. Moldova has
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  Speaker 1: something similar to this, and we've spoken to Maya Sandu
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  Speaker 1: on the show, the president of Moldova, and they were
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  Speaker 1: deeply worried that if Ukraine went their next because without
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  Speaker 1: NATO's backing, it's just that they have this Russian transnistry
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  Speaker 1: and territory in their area. It feels like giving up land,
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  Speaker 1: limiting your military, having an election, and never joining NATO,
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  Speaker 1: which has been Ukraine's goal, leaves it exposed.
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  Speaker 3: Hasn't always been Ukraine's goal, And I think that the
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  Speaker 3: reminder Ukraine was neutral in the sense it was not
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  Speaker 3: part of NATO before and that didn't prevent Putin from invading.
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  Speaker 3: So I think we are watching the cycle of history
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  Speaker 3: repeat itself. These demands for capitulation essentially and surrender are
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  Speaker 3: not going to fly with the Ukrainian people who are
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  Speaker 3: fighting bravely and who are enduring this. And I think
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  Speaker 3: that there's enough realization and pressure in Western capitals that
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  Speaker 3: they must you know, literally stand with Ukraine as part
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  Speaker 3: of these negotiations that now involve the security of Western Europe,
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  Speaker 3: and that if Putin gets his wishes in his way,
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  Speaker 3: there's very little to stop him from, you know, encroaching
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  Speaker 3: in the Balkans, encroaching in Poland, encroaching in other places
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  Speaker 3: around the world, or other countries to do that similar
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  Speaker 3: This is about fundamental principles of border security and justice.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, look, it's impossible to know unless you're at
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  Speaker 1: the table of exactly where the conversations are going and
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  Speaker 1: where they're will end up. But but what is your sense?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, are you optimistic that this can lead to
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  Speaker 1: something that is an end to the killing and end
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  Speaker 1: to the death but you know leaves Ukraine in a
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  Speaker 1: strong position for its future because it's tough to see
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  Speaker 1: it for me. But you're far more informed of this
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  Speaker 1: than i am.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, Ukrainians are community, we want peace, right, but
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  Speaker 3: peace is not This is not peace. The twenty eight
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  Speaker 3: point Plan is not a piece that will bring peace
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  Speaker 3: to Ukraine in prosperity. A peace for Ukraine is justice
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  Speaker 3: for the war crimes that have been committed, its accountability
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  Speaker 3: for the decisions that have been taken to fund the
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  Speaker 3: Russian war machine. And you know, people living in terror
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  Speaker 3: does not mean that Ukrainian people are ready to fold
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  Speaker 3: and Ukraine will keep fighting. And you know, we hope
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  Speaker 3: and we believe that Western countries are there for the
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  Speaker 3: long term and understand the significance of this, and the
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  Speaker 3: cynicism of my part is to say that we don't
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  Speaker 3: really believe that Russia will adhere to any agreement. They
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  Speaker 3: played around in twenty twenty two and earlier with various
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  Speaker 3: kind of diplomatic games. It's very hard to imagine a
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  Speaker 3: world in which Putin signs a deal that he adheres to.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, they got away with CRIMEA and so now, but
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  Speaker 1: if you look at what is there, the strength of
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  Speaker 1: the Cranian military would be capped. All parties would receive
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  Speaker 1: amnesty for the racks during the war. So the kidnapping
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  Speaker 1: of children, as you talked about, the deliberate targeting of
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  Speaker 1: civilian infrastructure, these are war crimes under the international criminal course.
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  Speaker 1: But Russia Moscow would also receive gradually from sanctions and
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  Speaker 1: be reintegrated into global trade. And as I said, Moscow
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  Speaker 1: would be invited to rejoin the Group of eight Nations.
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  Speaker 1: So the G seven, which we just hosted in Banff,
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  Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin would be invited to that the next time
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  Speaker 1: that group meets. I mean, this is a roadmap for
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  Speaker 1: Russia to reintegrate itself into the community of Nations in
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  Speaker 1: good standing.
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  Speaker 3: It seems absolutely that's their strong desire. They push it
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  Speaker 3: on the cultural front, they push it on the the
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  Speaker 3: Olympic front, they push it on the economic front. They
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  Speaker 3: do feel that pressure. I think what we're asking Canadian
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  Speaker 3: politicians to do, in international leaders to do is push
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  Speaker 3: back on Russia. They do feel the sanctions, they feel
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  Speaker 3: the isolation. Not enough that that has not stop them
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  Speaker 3: from importing Grainian and North Korean weapons and drones, as
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  Speaker 3: it is not enough to stop funding, you know, their
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  Speaker 3: oil and gas revenue. And so the determination of the
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  Speaker 3: West has to be redoubled. This example, if anything, has
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  Speaker 3: showed us that Russia is determined to keep playing this war,
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  Speaker 3: you know, the way that it wants to, and it
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  Speaker 3: will not It will not give up, It will not
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  Speaker 3: strategically change its mind, and it will not be defeated
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  Speaker 3: if we don't help Ukraine defeat it.
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  Speaker 1: But when you listen to the words of the US president.
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  Speaker 1: Just as a final point, I mean, he has long
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  Speaker 1: head of fatigue with the idea of foreign wars and
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  Speaker 1: entanglement to foreign wars. There is this quest for the
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  Speaker 1: Nobel Peace Prize that seems to be there. He seems
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  Speaker 1: determined to get this over with one way or another.
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  Speaker 1: So what does that do to the strength and position
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  Speaker 1: of Ukraine and the coalition of the willing If the
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  Speaker 1: US is eager to just see this end sort of
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  Speaker 1: kind of as quickly as possible.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think that President's Lanska and the Ukrainian government
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  Speaker 3: has played it well. They have signed a ceasefire deal
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  Speaker 3: as pressured by the US. We've not seen Russia sign
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  Speaker 3: anything or endure any punishment as a result of that.
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  Speaker 3: So I think Ukraine has said to the President, you know,
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  Speaker 3: you want peace, We want peace, and this is the
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  Speaker 3: kind of peace we can accept. This is what peace
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  Speaker 3: looks like for Ukraine. And they have not ever disagreed
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  Speaker 3: with him, but they have shaped I think the way
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  Speaker 3: that you know, the word peace is put down on
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  Speaker 3: paper in terms of the end result. And I think
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  Speaker 3: that Europe literally understands how the reshaping of borders will
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  Speaker 3: affect it in the future and as does NATO. So
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  Speaker 3: we hope that the Ukrainian government is there. We know
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  Speaker 3: they're there, vigorously pushing with their allies to get the
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  Speaker 3: best kind of a deal that their people can live with.
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  Speaker 1: IHOR is always good to see eremichaelism the CEO of
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  Speaker 1: the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, thinking if your time, Thanks you