WASHINGTON, United States – Donald Trump on Saturday dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine in favor of pursuing a full peace accord – a significant shift introduced hours after his summit with Russian chief Vladimir Putin yielded no clear breakthrough.
Previous to the high-stakes assembly in Alaska, securing an instantaneous cessation of hostilities had been a core demand of Trump and European leaders together with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will now maintain talks with the US president in Washington on Monday.
The shift away from an pressing ceasefire would appear to favor Putin, who has lengthy argued for negotiations on a last peace deal — a technique that Ukraine and its European allies have criticized as a means to purchase time and press dwelling Russia’s battlefield advances.
“It was decided by all that one of the best ways to finish the horrific battle between Russia and Ukraine is to go on to a peace settlement, which might finish the battle, and never a mere ceasefire settlement, which frequently occasions don’t maintain up,” Trump posted on his Fact Social platform after the Alaska talks.
Earlier than the summit, Trump had warned of “extreme penalties” if Moscow didn’t settle for a ceasefire.
In a name with European leaders on his flight again to Washington, Trump mentioned the US was ready to supply safety ensures for Ukraine — an assurance German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed as “important progress.”
However there was a scathing evaluation of the summit end result from the European Union’s prime diplomat Kaja Kallas, who accused Putin of searching for to “drag out negotiations” with no dedication to finish the bloodshed.
“The tough actuality is that Russia has no intention of ending this battle any time quickly,” Kallas mentioned.
The New York Instances, citing two European officers briefed on Trump’s name with European leaders, mentioned the president had expressed assist for Putin’s proposal for Ukraine to cede territory it controls to Russia in change for an eventual ceasefire.
Zelenskyy again in White Home
The principle diplomatic focus now switches to Zelenskyy’s talks with Trump in Washington on Monday.
An EU supply informed AFP that a lot of European leaders had additionally been invited to attend.
The Ukrainian president’s final go to to the White Home in February led to a rare shouting match, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berating Zelenskyy for not displaying sufficient gratitude for US assist in opposition to the Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy mentioned Saturday after a “substantive” dialog with Trump concerning the Alaska summit that he seemed ahead to his Washington go to and discussing “the entire particulars relating to ending the killing and the battle.”
In an interview with Fox Information after his sit-down with Putin, Trump had recommended that the onus was now on Zelenskyy to safe a peace deal as they work in direction of an eventual trilateral summit with Putin.
“It is actually as much as President Zelenskyy to get it finished,” Trump mentioned. “And I’d additionally say the European nations, they must become involved a bit of bit, nevertheless it’s as much as President Zelenskyy.”
European strain
The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are as a result of host a video name Sunday for his or her so-called “coalition of the prepared” to debate the best way ahead.
In an earlier assertion, they welcomed the plan for a Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy summit, however added that they’d keep strain on Russia within the absence of a ceasefire.
“We are going to proceed to strengthen sanctions and wider financial measures to place strain on Russia’s battle financial system till there’s a simply and lasting peace,” the assertion mentioned.
In the meantime, the battle in Ukraine raged on, with Kyiv saying Saturday that Russia had launched 85 assault drones and a ballistic missile in the course of the evening.
Again in Moscow, Putin mentioned his summit talks with Trump had been “well timed” and “very helpful.”
“The dialog was very frank, substantive, and, for my part, brings us nearer to the required choices,” he mentioned.
In his post-summit assertion in Alaska, Putin had warned Ukraine and European nations to not interact in any “behind-the-scenes intrigues” that would disrupt what he known as “this rising progress.” — Agence France-Presse
