The two sides could reach an agreement on a full ceasefire “pretty soon,” the US President has said
Negotiations about the terms of “dividing up the lands” between Moscow and Kiev are in full swing, US President Donald Trump has said.
“It’s being negotiated as we speak,” the president told journalists on Friday, referring to the disposition of territory claimed by both sides in the conflict.
Four former Ukrainian territories – Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as well as two Donbass Republics – officially joined Russia in autumn 2022 following a series of referendums. Kiev has never recognized the votes and continues to claim sovereignty over the regions, as well as over Crimea, which joined Russia back in 2014. The Ukrainian military still controls parts of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
Trump did not provide any details about the ongoing negotiations. He said he had had “very good discussions” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, adding that “we have the confines of a deal.”
He also said that the two sides were “going to have a ceasefire on a lot of areas” followed by a “full ceasefire.”
Trump’s statement came ahead of meetings on the Ukraine conflict scheduled for Monday. Washington plans to hold “indirect talks” with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia, according to Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, described the upcoming talks as “consultations” at an expert level.
American and Ukrainian delegations held discussions in the Saudi city of Jeddah last week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that territorial concessions were one of the issues broached at the meeting. Following the negotiations, Kiev said it would agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Putin has also since stated that he is open to the idea of a ceasefire, but stressed that several issues must first be addressed – including the fate of Ukraine’s forces encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region, as well as guarantees that Kiev will not use the truce to rearm and replenish its ranks.
Russia has previously opposed a temporary truce, saying it would prefer a permanent solution addressing the “root causes” of the conflict instead. Moscow also repeatedly stated that it was ready for a dialogue. Putin has said an immediate ceasefire could happen if Kiev begins withdrawing from Russian territory, including the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions.
