Reports indicate that Donald Trump’s incoming administration is exploring a peace proposal for the Russia-Ukraine conflict that would involve British and other European troops enforcing a buffer zone along the frontline.
The proposed plan would see the U.S. scale back its direct involvement, with European forces taking responsibility for maintaining the buffer. According to sources cited in the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s team believes the cost and risks of enforcing peace should fall on European countries rather than the U.S., aligning with the “America First” stance he championed on the campaign trail.
The proposed 800-mile buffer zone, patrolled exclusively by European forces, is reportedly being discussed within Trump’s circle as a means to halt hostilities without additional U.S. military commitments.
Trump’s advisers have expressed scepticism about sending American troops or funding the peace enforcement effort, with one insider quoted as saying, “We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European… We are not paying for it.”
This proposal has drawn significant criticism, particularly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has described any move to concede territory as dangerous for Europe. Zelensky, addressing European leaders in Budapest this week, warned that “a just peace can be bought only by showing strength,” adding that conceding to Russia’s territorial claims would be “suicidal for all of Europe.”
Senior UK security officials reportedly reacted with anger, expressing that the proposed buffer zone plan appears to cater to Russian interests by legitimising Moscow’s hold over occupied Ukrainian regions.
The plan, they argue, undermines NATO’s unified support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. The proposal also arrives amid remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, following Trump’s election victory, disparaged NATO as outdated and overly reliant on U.S. leadership, claiming that without American support, NATO’s influence would decline.
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