President Donald Trump expressed confidence he’ll get a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine when he speaks with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and he is determined to do whatever he has to do in order to get it.
‘We can work a peace agreement, a cease fire and peace and I think we’ll be able to do it,’ Trump told reporters on Monday.
And, he added in a post to Truth Social, that ‘many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains. Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW.’
‘I look very much forward to the call with President Putin.’
The White House is not ruling out any option to get its deal – whether it’s conceding to Russian wishes to hold onto Ukrainian territory or threatening the Kremlin with sanctions.
‘All options are on the table,’ National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News Sunday. ‘Absolutely.’
President Donald Trump is ready to make a deal to get peace between Russia and Ukraine
Tuesday morning’s call will be the first known conversation between Trump and Putin since Ukraine agreed to support a U.S.-backed monthlong cease-fire as long as Russia does the same.
Trump has made his desire for peace clear but Putin appears to be dragging his feet, possibly in a bid to win more concessions.
The White House said sanctions are an option if Tuesday’s conversation doesn’t go as President Trump hopes.
‘It’s something the president has floated, and certainly he’s willing to do that if necessary,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her briefing.
Another option the administration is considering is recognizing Ukraine’s Crimea region as Russian territory, Semafor reported.
Negotiators have already discussed ‘dividing up certain assets’ in order to end the three-year-old war, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.
His envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin last week in Moscow as part of the peace talks push.
Witkoff said he met with Putin for between three and four hours and had a ‘positive’ and ‘solution-based’ discussion.
‘The two sides have… we’ve narrowed the differences between them, and now we’re sitting at the table. I was with the president all day yesterday, I’ll be with him today, we’re sitting with him, discussing how to narrow it even further,’ Witkoff told CNN on Sunday.
Part of the old Soviet Union, Crimea was recognized as part of Ukraine when that country was formed in 1991.
But Putin has long seen Crimea as his nation’s territory.
In 2014, the peninsula on the coast of the Black Sea was occupied by Russian forces and annexed by Moscow, but most countries recognize Crimea as Ukrainian territory.
Russia was expelled from the G8 – as it was known then – for its aggressive actions in taking the region. Many countries – including the United States – also slapped economic sanctions on Moscow for the move.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (above) will speak on the phone Tuesday morning
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to concede any territory to Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is firmly against any territorial concessions and European allies could back him.
Trump said he plans to discuss land and power plants with Putin in their phone call.
‘We’ll be talking about land. A lot of land is a lot different than it was before the war, as you know. We’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants, that’s a big question,’ he said.
The power plant in question is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. The six-reactor plant is Europe’s largest. Russia seized control of it early in the war and still has it in their possession.
The plan has not supplied power to Ukraine’s grid since its capture. But its proximity to frontline fighting has raised concerns about the risk of a radiological disaster.
The Ukrainians want it back.
‘We are engaging in diplomacy and that will involve both carrots and sticks to get both sides to the table, but to also resolve this in a way that is permanent and enduring,’ Walz told Fox News.
As part of the talks, Russia wants reassurances Ukraine won’t be made a member of NATO.
And Moscow has rejected any attempt by Western countries to put troops in Ukraine, even after a peace deal, as a peace-keeping force.
Zelensky, for his part, has accused Putin of dragging his feet. But his team also has warned Ukraine won’t make a deal at any price.
The White House, however, remains optimistic.
‘We have never been closer to a peace deal than we are at this moment,’ Leavitt told reporters on Monday. ‘The president, as you know, is determined to get one done.’
