 "Trump says he will discuss Ukraine ceasefire proposal with Putin on Tuesday")
US President Donald Trump has said he will discuss the Ukraine ceasefire proposal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The development comes at a time when Ukraine has accepted a US-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. Putin, however, is yet to accept the proposal.
Speaking to the media on Air Force One, Trump said that “a lot of work has been done over the weekend” in an apparent reference to the visit of Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, to Russia on Friday where he held talks with Putin.
Trump said, “We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
In an apparent reference to how the question of occupied territories would be addressed, Trump said they would talk “dividing up certain assets”.
Trump further said, “We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants.”
Even as Ukraine has accepted the proposed 30-day ceasefire, Putin has persisted with his maximalist demands. In a statement last week, he said that while he accepted the idea of a temporary ceasefire, “nuances” of the deal needed to be discussed.
Putin went on to list his demands: Ukrainian troops in Kursk would not be allowed to withdraw, they would need to surrender; Ukraine would not receive weapons during the ceasefire; and Ukraine would neither mobilise nor train soldiers during the ceasefire. In an apparent reference to longstanding demands to ensure Ukraine’s neutrality, Putin further said that he wanted a such terms that lead to “long-term peace” and “eliminate the original causes of this crisis”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEven though Trump and his officials have urged Putin to accept the ceasefire proposal, they have not yet applied any pressure on him that they have applied on Ukraine. On the contrary, a string of Trump’s actions, such as suspension of intelligence-sharing following the spat at White House, strengthened Russia’s hand as it affected Ukraine’s ability to defend against the Russian offensive in Kursk.
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