Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday said “land swaps” will likely need to be negotiated in order to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a position that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t support.
Graham echoed President Donald Trump’s recent comments about land exchanges, referring to territorial concessions that Ukraine could offer to stop Russia’s three-year war. Trump suggested on Friday that there will “be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” warring nations.
After Zelensky rejected the prospect, Graham reiterated Trump’s point that both sides will need to make some sacrifices.
“Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian, and Russia is not going to Kyiv, so there will be some land swaps at the end,” he told NBC News host Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday morning.
Graham said a “good deal” would prevent Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine from ever happening again, noting the conflict started under the watch of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden in 2014 and 2022, respectively. The senator added that Trump wants to end the war “forever.”
Land swaps would only happen, Graham said, “after you have security guarantees to Ukraine to prevent Russia from doing this again.”
“You need to tell Putin what happens if he does it a third time,” he continued, referring to Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014 and Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The South Carolina Republican’s remarks come ahead of Trump’s planned Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The goal of the bilateral meeting is to move closer toward a peace deal, although it may become a trilateral meeting if Zelensky joins.
The White House is currently considering whether to invite Zelensky. According to NBC News, a senior White House official insisted the Trump administration is “focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”
Zelensky appeared to dismiss the looming peace summit. “Very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people, and which anyway can’t be ended without us, without Ukraine,” he said.
ZELENSKY POURS COLD WATER ON TRUMP’S ALASKA PEACE TALKS, REJECTS LAND SWAP
Graham suggested the United States could impose “preinvasion sanctions” to prevent Russia from attacking its neighbor again, while the White House continues to send military aid to Ukraine.
“We want to end this with a sovereign, independent, self-governing Ukraine in a situation where Putin cannot do this the third time without being crushed,” he said.
