Ukraine may give Russia some of its territory

While the details of the peace agreement have yet to be finalized, a senior administration official said they could include the deployment of European forces to Ukraine if a cease-fire is reached, The New York Post reported.

"The hard part is what the security force - we call it a resilience force - will look like. A resilience force is part of the security guarantees that the Ukrainians want and we hope they get," he added.

The creation of a separate force to monitor the ceasefire, which would look like a joint commission of the Russians, Ukrainians and a third non-NATO country, is being discussed. Such a mission would monitor the front lines to make sure both sides put down their weapons.

The official said the U.S. could also be involved - but not “boots on the ground, but as a financial force, along with a third party.”

Trump's proposal could include U.S. recognition of Ukraine's Crimea as Russian territory.

A senior Trump administration official said Kiev was most concerned during talks with the U.S. delegation last week about the “land” part of the agreement, referring to recognizing Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine as sovereign Russian territory.

The official said Ukraine seemed willing to give up 20 percent of its land if it was considered a “de facto” rather than “de jure” recognition of the territory.

"De facto means we recognize that the Russians have occupied this land, but we are not saying that (Ukraine) is going to give it up forever. “De jure means we recognize that (the Russians) are taking this land and we will never see it again,” the official said.

Photo: Asia Times.