The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced that Russia and Ukraine are now “very close to a deal” that could potentially end the war which began in 2022.
Trump made this known on Friday while arriving in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. Speaking to reporters, he said, “It’s been a good day for negotiations.”
He also posted on social media that “most of the major points are agreed to” and urged both sides to meet “at very high levels” to finalise the agreement.
This development follows a meeting between Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Ukraine, however, was not invited to participate in the talks.
According to Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov, the meeting succeeded in bringing the positions of Russia and the US “closer together,” not only regarding the Ukraine crisis but also “other international issues.” Ushakov further described the three-hour meeting as “very useful” and mentioned discussions about restarting direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need for firm action against Russia before any real progress can be achieved. In his Friday night speech, Zelenskyy stated, “Only with a full and unconditional ceasefire can we start to talk about territorial issues.”
Earlier in the day, in an interview with the BBC, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s openness to talks if the war is completely paused. “A full and unconditional ceasefire opens up the possibility to discuss everything,” he said.
Reports suggest that Ukraine may be pressured to relinquish control over territories seized by Russia. Trump has previously expressed support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a region it seized in 2014.
However, Zelenskyy firmly opposed this position.
“Our position is unchanged – only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian,” Zelenskyy declared in Kyiv.
Addressing Ukraine’s military limitations, Zelenskyy admitted, “We do not have enough weapons to take back Crimea,” referring to Trump’s comments in Time magazine where the US President remarked, “Crimea will stay with Russia.”
According to Reuters, the US peace plan proposes formal recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea and other occupied areas, including Luhansk. It also stipulates that Ukraine would be blocked from joining NATO, a move many see as one of the war’s main triggers.
Nevertheless, Ukraine and its European allies maintain that negotiations on occupied territories should only commence after a ceasefire agreement.
Although the US peace plan has not been made public, Reuters reported that it had seen the proposal along with counter-offers from Europe and Ukraine, noting that significant differences between the parties remain.
While the Moscow meeting was underway, Trump told reporters, “We’re pretty close to a peace deal. I think we’re going to end up with a lot of good deals, including trade and tariffs.”
He also addressed a delay in a rare earth minerals agreement with Ukraine, saying, “It is at least three weeks late. I hope it will be signed immediately.”
The minerals deal, initially scheduled for February, was postponed following a tense meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Washington.
Despite the diplomatic efforts, fighting persists on the ground. Zelenskyy accused Russia of rejecting a 30-day ceasefire proposal made in March. Writing on social media, he stated, “It’s been 45 days since Ukraine agreed to President Trump’s proposal… Russia rejects all this. Without pressure, this cannot be resolved.”
Zelenskyy also condemned Russia for launching missile attacks on Kyiv using weapons allegedly built with foreign components. “The missile that killed the Kyiv residents contained at least 116 parts imported from other countries,” he said, “most of them, unfortunately, were made by US companies.”
The deadly missile strike on Thursday claimed twelve lives and left dozens injured.
In response, Trump issued a blunt message to Russian President Vladimir Putin via social media, posting, “Vladimir STOP!”
Nevertheless, Trump later told Time magazine that he believes Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO played a key role in sparking the conflict.
Currently, Russia occupies nearly 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory, and with Ukraine excluded from direct negotiations in Moscow, the path to lasting peace remains highly uncertain.
