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US vice president JD Vance proposed that Indian troops could be part of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to help ensure a ceasefire in the war with Russia during a meeting in the Oval Office on January 30 last year, just 10 days after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to a newly published book.
The book, titled “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump”, written by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, examines the first 14 months of Trump’s second term in office.
According to the book, retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, whom Trump appointed as special presidential envoy for Ukraine and Russia, held a meeting in the Oval Office 10 days after the inauguration.
The purpose was reportedly to establish the “commander’s intent” and decide what role the US should play in ending the war in Ukraine.
During the discussion, Kellogg presented a proposal titled “An America First Plan: Trump’s Historic Peace Deal for Russia-Ukraine War”.
Apart from Trump, the meeting was reportedly attended by Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, then-national security adviser Mike Waltz and treasury secretary Scott Bessent.
As part of the proposal, the US would not formally recognise Russia’s claims over occupied Ukrainian territory. However, it suggested that Ukraine would not attempt to regain the lost territory through military action.
The plan called for peacekeeping troops from France, Britain and the Netherlands to be stationed in Ukraine to oversee a ceasefire, according to the book.
At this point, Vance raised concerns over using troops from NATO member countries. He argued that the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine could provoke Russia and increase the risk of drawing the US into the conflict.
Notably, a month later, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov declared during a meeting with Rubio in Saudi Arabia that the deployment of troops from NATO countries would remain “unacceptable” to Russia, even if they operated under the European Union or national flags.
Vance, then asked, “Are there troops from other countries that could serve this purpose?” Waltz said it would be preferable to have support from countries outside Europe.
This is when Vance allegedly name-dropped India. “Vance suggested Saudi Arabia or India. Trump chuckled,” the book reads.
The authors write that Trump responded by saying: “The Indians won’t do that. They won’t pay for something like that.”
Trump reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a good relationship with him. “Prime Minister Modi really liked him and wanted to visit, Trump said, but the Indians do not ever pay for anything”, according to the book.
He also said he had no objection if Britain or France chose to deploy their own troops to Ukraine, as long as the US was not involved.
The book says that during the same meeting, Trump repeatedly interrupted Kellogg to talk about how much he “disliked” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“He’s a bad negotiator,” he said, “and he’s destroyed his country. But he was really good at getting stuff from the Biden administration.”
As Kellogg continued presenting his plan, Trump repeatedly made critical remarks about Ukraine. At one point, he described it as the most corrupt country in the world.
The chapter, and much of the book, discusses how Trump’s second presidency differs from his first. During the meeting, he instructed Kellogg not to engage with Russian officials and barred him from having any contact with Moscow.
“Nobody on your team can talk to these people,” Trump added, “because we’re working a deal.”
The book says Kellogg did not know who Trump meant by “we”, nor was he aware of the deal being discussed.
According to the authors, Trump entered his second term relying heavily on his own instincts and making decisions accordingly. Without informing Kellogg, he had already handed responsibility for the matter to someone else.
In another chapter of the book, Trump mentions India again while discussing tariffs.
Days after tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had served as a “special government employee”, clashed with cabinet secretaries, the White House hosted a meeting of the Technology CEO Council on March 10.
Among those in attendance in the Roosevelt Room were the heads of several major technology companies, including IBM, Dell, HPE, HP Inc., Qualcomm and Intel.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick asked the executives, “What do we need to do to get you to commit to building new factories in the United States of America?”
It was during this meeting that Trump brought up India while discussing tariffs, claiming that the country imposed duties of 175 per cent on American goods.
“Those who won’t build here are going to have massive tariffs to pay… not 20 per cent, like 100 per cent…We’re treated so unfairly. China tariffs us over 150 to 200 per cent, India 175 per cent,” Trump said, as per the book.
The book was published on Tuesday (June 23).
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