US President Donald Trump has said he had a “very good conversation” with European leaders and also spoke directly with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in recent days, as part of efforts to get all sides of the Ukraine conflict “on the same page.”
Last month, the Trump administration put forth a framework for a peace plan aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict. The proposals, which have since been revised multiple times, envisage Kiev renouncing its NATO aspirations, as well as its claims to Crimea and the Donbass regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, all of which joined Russia after referendums, among other points. In return, Ukraine would receive unspecified security guarantees.
Asked on Monday what “incentive” Ukraine has to give up territory, Trump suggested it may already be a settled issue.
“Well, they’ve already lost the territory, you know, to be honest. I mean, the territory is lost,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “But in terms of security guarantee… We’re working on the security guarantees so the war doesn’t start up again.”
Trump said he recently held direct talks with Putin and believes Russia is serious about ending the conflict.
“At this moment, Russia wants to get it [ended]. And the problem is they’ll want to get it ended, and then all of a sudden they won’t. And Ukraine will want to get it ended, and all of a sudden they won’t. So we have to get them on the same page,” he said.
Following talks in Berlin on Monday between Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and a Ukrainian delegation, Trump said he had “a very good conversation” with European and NATO leaders, as well as Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
“We had very long and very good talks. I think things are going along pretty well,” Trump said.
Zelensky, however, stated after the meeting that although some progress had been made, “the issue of concessions is definitely not relevant.” He recently floated the idea of a referendum on territorial concessions but insisted that Western security guarantees must be secured beforehand, along with the holding of a long-delayed presidential election.
Moscow has called it a ploy to prolong the conflict and regroup the Ukrainian military. Russia has consistently maintained that Crimea and Donbass, which voted to join the Russian Federation in 2022, are its sovereign territory, and Ukrainian troops will be pushed out of the region one way or the other.
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