Trump's Ukraine deadline sparks rift on Capitol Hill amid stalled peace talks

By Fox News · Fox News

Lawmakers gave mixed reactions to the timeline that President Donald Trump laid out for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace plan. The new timeline, first reported by the Financial Times, gives Ukraine just "days" to consider the 20-point design floated by the administration after months of stalemate. According to the Times, the administration wants to have an answer by Christmas. ZELENSKYY APPEARS TO CHANGE HIS MIND ON HOLDING ELECTIONS AFTER TRUMP'S CRITICISM Where some lawmakers believe a sense of urgency is essential to drawing the parties to the table, others criticized the timeline as a tool that they believe is putting a disproportionate amount of pressure on Ukraine. "I don’t think people should be given a deadline when it comes to defending their freedom and sovereignty," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Wednesday. Whether Ukraine will have to surrender some of its land has become the main sticking point amid broader conversations on the 20-point peace plan brokered by the United States. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said conceding territory is a line he won’t cross. On Wednesday, in a post to X, he said he would work with Ukraine’s allies to find an acceptable resolution to the conflict. "We continue to communicate with all our partners on a daily basis, virtually 24/7, to identify doable and realistic steps to bring the war to an end. Everything must be reliable and dignified for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "We are finalizing work on the 20 points of a fundamental document that could define the parameters for ending the war, and we expect to deliver this document to the United States in the near future following our joint work with President Trump’s team and partners in Europe." TRUMP PRESSURES ZELENSKYY FOR NEW ELECTIONS, WARNS UKRAINE OF 'A POINT WHERE IT’S NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE' Like Van Hollen, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he believes the timeline doesn’t help reach a resolution. But he also questioned how firm the timeline reques…