Trump says ‘many elements’ agreed to ahead of Putin call
U.S. President Donald Trump said “many elements” of Ukraine’s peace deal have been agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin before their highly anticipated call.
Trump has released Truth Social, and he will talk to Putin on Tuesday morning.
He said despite the agreement, there was “a lot left” to deal with.
“The deaths of 2,500 soldiers are brought from both sides every week, and now it must end. I am very concerned about the phone call with President Putin,” Trump wrote.
He told reporters earlier, “We will see if we can reach a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace, and I think we will be able to do that.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of extending the war in his night speech on Monday.
“This proposal could have been implemented a long time ago,” he said, adding: “Wartime every day means human life.”
There is inconsistency in the Trump administration’s progress on ceasefire negotiations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting with Ukrainian officials that the “batch” of conversations is “what the negotiation process looks like” rather than “specific conditions.”
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy who met Putin in Moscow on Thursday, also offered a more measured tone.
Meanwhile, Britain and France urged Putin to prove that he hoped to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised Zelenksy for his “courage”, agreed to the ceasefire proposal and challenged Russia to do the same.
“Enough death. Enough lives are destroyed. Guns must be silent,” Macron said in an article on X.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Putin should now agree to a “now unconditional ceasefire” and told MPs that he had seen “no signs” and that Putin was serious about the peace agreement.
He warned that Britain and its allies had “more cards we can play” to help force Russia to negotiate “seriously”.
The White House sounded more optimistic on the eve of Trump-Putin talks, and the note would be conducted by phone, saying Ukraine’s peace “never closer.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that Trump was “decided” to ensure a peace deal.
Regarding the content of the negotiations, she said: “There is a power plant located on the border between Russia and Ukraine and discusses with the Ukrainians and he will resolve it tomorrow on a phone call with Putin.”
The facility is likely to be the largest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Europe. It has been occupied by Russian troops since March 2022, and concerns about nuclear accidents continue due to combat in the region.
When asked Sunday what concessions were considered in the ceasefire negotiations, Trump said: “We will talk about land. We will talk about power plants (…) We are already talking about that, to allocate certain assets.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on what the leaders would discuss and replied “We never do this”.
Putin had previously expressed his support for the ceasefire, but he also set up a list of conditions for achieving peace.
One area of debate is the Kursk region in western Russia, where Ukraine began a military invasion last August and occupied some territory.
Russia has pushed for recapture of it in recent weeks, and Putin now claims it has full control of Kursk.
He also raised many questions about how to monitor and regulate ceasefires along the front lines in the East and said he would not accept NATO forces on the territory.
Last week, Ukrainian and U.S. representatives discussed a peace proposal at the table in Saudi Arabia.
Hours later, they locked in a room and announced a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine said was ready to accept.
French President Macron and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met on Tuesday, stressing that their country will continue their “unwavering” support for Ukraine and demanded “clear commitment” from Russia.
