WASHINGTON – A key U.S. negotiator, Dan Driscoll, is โpreparingโฃ for a series of challenging talks withโ ukrainian and Russian officials, potentially delivering unwelcome messages asโ former President Donald Trump โคseeks a swift โresolution to the conflict.โค Driscoll’s mission centers on conveying โthe realities ofโค Trump’s evolving peace plan, wich faces โskepticism from both โsides and notably from Ukraine, which fearsโ being pressured into unfavorableโค concessions.The โassignment places Driscoll at the center of a โขcomplex geopolitical situation. Trump has repeatedly stated hisโค desire to endโข the war quickly, โฃpotentiallyโค throughโฃ a negotiated ceasefire. However, Russia continues to pursue maximalist demands, while a broad coalition โsupporting Ukraineโ remains committed toโ resisting Russian โaggression. Driscoll’s role is to navigate these conflicting positions โand communicate the constraints of Trump’s โขapproach, a task likely to involve โขdelivering challenging truths to both Kyiv and Moscow.Sources indicate Driscoll is preparing for intensive weeks of diplomacy, โwith potential travel to both capitals. He must contend with a Russia unwilling to compromise and a Ukrainian government persistent to defend itsโฃ sovereignty.โ The negotiator mayโ have to deliver unfavorable news to one โฃor both parties regarding the feasibility โof their respective goals under the proposed framework.โ
European โleaders are already โexpressing doubts about the viability โof Trump’s โคplan, withโ concerns โthat Russianโ president Vladimir Putin will not agree to any โnew draft proposals. Military analystsโ also โsuggest โฃthat Russia’s advances in eastern Ukraine may be โslower than Kremlin claims, furtherโฃ complicating the negotiating landscape. โThe situation raises questions about whether Trump’s โapproach could โคmirrorโ the perceived failuresโฃ of โคthe Treatyโข of Versailles, potentially โฃcreating a fragile peace susceptible to future โคconflict.