With thousands of lives lost and a global economy strained by the ongoing conflict, the quest for ceasefire in Ukraine has become an urgent priority.
US President, Donald Trump has said that he and Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin negotiations to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump said that he was “ok” with Ukraine not having NATO membership and that it was “unlikely” that Ukraine would take much land back in the negotiations.
He told reporters later in the Oval Office, Russia “took a lot of land, and they fought for that land and they lost a lot of soldiers.”
Trump said that he was not closely concerned with which territories were handed over.
“I’m just here to try and get peace. I don’t care so much about anything other than I want to stop having millions of people killed.”
Donald Trump
The rapid entry into negotiations with Russia and open demands that Ukraine concede land have set alarm bells ringing in Kyiv and among its European allies that the Trump administration will offer minimal resistance to Putin’s demands in order to cut a deal as quickly as possible.
In a social media post, Trump said that he held a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” with Putin and that they agreed to “have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”
He said that he and Putin had agreed to visit each other’s countries, later telling reporters that their first meeting would take place in Saudi Arabia.
“As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations.”
Donald Trump
The Kremlin confirmed the call and the mutual invitations for the leaders to visit each other’s countries in what would be the first visits by an American President to Russia since 2009 and the first by Putin to the US since 2015.
In its readout, the Kremlin also maintained a maximalist position, with Putin saying that he “mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be achieved through peaceful negotiations.”
In December, Putin also stated that he would insist on Ukraine adopting a neutral status and implementing some degree of demilitarisation, while also demanding that the west lift its sanctions on Russia.
Kyiv has rejected those demands in the past and the Biden administration had said that it would be up to Ukraine to decide when to hold peace talks.
Zelenskyy Offers Support For Ceasefire Talks
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered support for the talks, saying that he and Trump had held a “meaningful” conversation by phone.
“No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In his readout of their call, Zelenskyy also suggested that Ukraine was reviewing a deal with the US regarding a new “security, economic cooperation, and resource partnership.”
Trump told reporters that the US would seek to “secure” future military aid against Ukrainian rare earth minerals and other natural resources.
The US has suggested that it would seek access to rare earth minerals, which are strategic metals essential for industries developing computers, batteries and cutting-edge energy technology in exchange for providing military aid to Ukraine in the future.
Trump said that he was not concerned about freezing out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the talks, saying, “I don’t think so as long as he’s there.” But, he said, “sometime [Ukraine’s] going to have to have elections too … His poll numbers aren’t particularly great.”
Trump said Zelenskyy would meet on Friday with the Vice President, JD Vance, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of the Munich security conference.
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