President Donald Trump has voiced support for a peace proposal reportedly offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deal would see Russia take complete control of the Donbas region in exchange for freezing the fighting along the rest of the front lines — a move that could halt years of violence and bring much-needed stability to the area.
According to a European diplomat, Trump’s Friday meeting with Putin in Alaska focused on serious negotiations, with the Russian President reaffirming his interest in securing the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the central regions of the contested Donbas area. In return, Moscow would halt its advance in other places such as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
However, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has so far resisted any proposal that involves ceding Ukrainian territory, notably the remaining 30 percent of Donetsk still under Kyiv’s control. Trump has taken a pragmatic stance. After follow-up conversations with Zelensky and European leaders, President Trump emphasized on social media Saturday that the goal should be a full peace agreement, not just another temporary ceasefire that risks falling apart.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement,” Trump wrote, “which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
His comments represent a shift from President Trump, who had previously signaled openness to a ceasefire. His focus now appears to be on securing a durable peace that protects lives and restores some measure of order in Eastern Europe/
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Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted that President Trump conveyed Russia’s willingness to negotiate based on current battle lines rather than pre-war administrative borders.
Although European leaders have stopped short of endorsing Trump’s direction outright, they issued a statement thanking him for his efforts to bring the war to an end.
Putin called his meeting in Alaska with President Trump a “very frank” meeting and reiterated his interest in ending the conflict through diplomacy. Speaking from the Kremlin, he acknowledged the Trump team's focus on ending hostilities, saying, “We would like to move to resolving all issues by peaceful means.”
Looking forward, Zelensky is set to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday, a meeting that could prove pivotal in determining whether peace is on the horizon.
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