Trump says envoys headed to Putin, Ukrainian officials as he ‘fine-tunes’ Ukraine peace plan
President Donald Trump said his Ukraine peace proposal has been “fine-tuned” and that envoys will soon meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian officials. His plan, criticised for favouring Russia, remains under negotiation as Europe seeks stronger guarantees and fresh Russian attacks intensify pressure on talks.
Washington: President Donald Trump said Tuesday his plan to end the war in Ukraine has been “fine-tuned” and he’s sending envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials.
Trump suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening aboard Air Force One, Trump said resolving the war was difficult, and described what had been a 28-point plan as a work in progress. “That was not a plan — it was a concept,” Trump said.
Trump’s plan for ending the nearly four-year war emerged last week. It heavily favoured Russia, prompting Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators. European leaders, fearing for their own future facing Russian aggression but apparently sidelined by Trump in drawing up the proposal, scrambled to steer the negotiations toward accommodating their concerns.
Trump said he believed Witkoff would be meeting with Putin next week in Moscow, with his son-in-law Jared Kushner potentially joining the meeting. “People are starting to realize it’s a good deal for both parties,” Trump said.
The president played down the element of his plan that would require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, suggesting that Russian forces were already likely to seize the land they’re seeking.
“The way it’s going, if you look, it’s just moving in one direction,” Trump said.
“So eventually that’s land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway.” At the centre of Trump’s plan is the call on Ukraine to concede the entirety of its eastern Donbas region, even though a vast swath of that land remains in Ukrainian control. Analysts at the independent Institute for the Study of War have estimated it would take several years for the Russian military to completely seize the territory, based on its current rate of advances.
