Donald Trump announced that a peaceful resolution to Russia's war against Ukraine is "closer than ever."
According to Trump, he held negotiations with the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, and NATO leadership. The US President also confirmed that he has had "many conversations" with Russian President Putin.
"We're closer now than we've ever been. And I think we're closer to the goal now. We want to save a lot of lives," Trump said.
At the same time, he noted that both Russia and Ukraine want the war to end, but they could "suddenly change their minds," so they need to be "kept on the same page."
Regarding territorial issues, Trump stated: "They've already lost that territory. The territory is lost. But as for security guarantees — we're working on that together with Europe. We don't want the war to flare up again."
According to Axios, citing an American official, the US has proposed to Ukraine "significant security guarantees" similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which must be approved by the Senate. In exchange, the proposal provides for territorial concessions to Russia.
Representatives of Ukraine and the US may meet this coming weekend in Miami to continue negotiations. According to Axios, military officials will be present at the meeting who will be "studying maps." An American official told Suspilne on condition of anonymity that the US is ready for trips to both Ukraine and Russia to facilitate achieving peace.
According to the publication, Ukraine and European partners fear that even after territorial concessions, Moscow could withdraw from the agreement and put forward new demands.
Trump's statement was preceded by two days of intensive negotiations in Berlin between the Ukrainian delegation, US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and European leaders. The meeting between Zelensky and American representatives lasted almost two hours, and overall consultations took about eight hours. Following the negotiations, 12 EU and partner country leaders issued a joint statement with commitments on security guarantees for Ukraine, support for an 800,000-strong army, and EU accession.
The key US proposal was security guarantees, which American officials called a "platinum standard." Trump is ready to submit the agreement for ratification to the US Senate — this willingness surprised both Ukrainian and European negotiators. According to the American side's assessment, the parties reached consensus on 90% of issues, however The Guardian notes that the main territorial question remains unresolved.
At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky confirmed that positions on territories differ: "Regarding the territorial question in relation to Russian demands, we heard this from the US. We perceive this as demands from the Russian Federation." The maximum that the Ukrainian side agrees to is the "stand where we stand" approach along the line of combat contact.
