By TrumpG 
The transition team of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has clarified that a Republican operative, who earlier in the day outlined a potential U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine, does not speak on behalf of Trump.
Brian Lanza, a long-time strategist for the Republican Party, told the BBC that the Trump administration would seek a “realistic vision for peace” from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Lanza stated that the new U.S. administration’s priority in Ukraine would be to establish peace, not to reclaim lost Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. “If President Zelensky comes to the table and says we can only have peace if Crimea is returned, that will show he is not serious. Crimea is lost,” he said.
A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team denied that Lanza was speaking on behalf of Trump. The transition team is currently reviewing candidates for administration positions and developing policies that Trump may adopt during his second term.
“Brian Lanza was a campaign contractor,” said the anonymous spokesperson. “He does not work for President Trump and does not speak for him,” the spokesperson added.
During the election campaign, Trump stated that he would find a solution to end the war “within one day,” but did not elaborate on how he would achieve that.
According to media reports, Zelensky and Trump spoke by phone this week after the U.S. elections, with Trump’s supporter, billionaire Elon Musk, also participating in the conversation. Trump had previously refused to rule out the possibility of ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia and has been vague in his statements regarding the conflict.
Some of his prominent allies have proposed peace plans that would effectively result in long-term Russian control over areas internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory.
