Former President Trump announced that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday, maintaining an optimistic outlook regarding Russia’s willingness to consider a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We aim to see if we can bring that conflict to a conclusion,” Mr. Trump commented to reporters while on Air Force One on Sunday evening. “Perhaps we can. Perhaps we can’t, but I believe we have a strong chance.”
Mr. Trump remarked that significant progress had been made in negotiations over the weekend, noting discussions concerning the “allocation of certain assets,” specifically referencing potential agreements around land and power facilities.
“I believe we will be discussing land; there’s a lot of land involved. It’s significantly different now than it was prior to the war, as you’re aware,” Mr. Trump stated.
He further noted: “We will be discussing power plants, which is a major topic. However, I think both parties—Ukraine and Russia—have already made considerable headway on this.”
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East involved in the peace discussions, shared on UJ that he had a fruitful three to four-hour meeting with Mr. Putin last week. He refrained from disclosing the details of their discussion but mentioned that the two sides had “narrowed the gaps between them.”
Ukraine has already pledged its support for the U.S.-backed ceasefire, while President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has accused Mr. Putin of deliberately stalling negotiations to entrap Ukrainian forces, thereby enhancing his leverage in the ceasefire discussions.
Mr. Putin had asserted on Friday that Ukraine’s troops in the Kursk region of Russia should surrender. However, by the weekend, following intense combat, Ukrainian forces had retreated from most of that area, retaining control of only a fraction of land within Russia.
