New Delhi: Donald Trump, Saturday, shifted his stance from advocating an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine to pursuing a comprehensive peace accord, a significant change in approach announced just hours after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which concluded without a clear breakthrough.
Before the high-stakes meeting in Alaska, securing an immediate halt to hostilities had been a key objective for Trump, who had earlier warned of “severe consequences” for Russia, as well as for European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to visit Washington on Monday.
According to the media reports, this move away from pushing for a ceasefire appears to benefit Putin, who has consistently called for negotiations on a final peace agreement, a strategy that Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as a means for Russia to consolidate its battlefield gains.
Speaking with Zelensky and European leaders on his return flight to Washington, Trump later stated, “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement which would end the war.”
Trump added on his Truth Social platform that ceasefire deals “oftentimes do not hold up.”
According to an official briefed on the talks, Trump signalled support for a proposal from Putin in which Russia would take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the front line in two others.
Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas,” said the source, referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
In return, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the southern Black Sea port regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where major cities remain under Ukrainian control.
Despite announcing the annexation of all four of these Ukrainian regions in September 2022, several months into its full-scale invasion, Russia has yet to achieve full control over any of them.
“The Ukrainian president refused to leave Donbas,” the source noted, as per the reports.
Notably, Trump also announced that the United States is prepared to offer Ukraine security guarantees, a move welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called it “significant progress.”
However, the summit outcome drew sharp criticism from the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, who accused Putin of attempting to “drag out negotiations” without any genuine commitment to ending the war.
“The harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war any time soon,” Kallas said.
Diplomatic attention now turns to Zelensky’s forthcoming visit to the White House on Monday. According to an EU source, several European leaders have also been invited to attend.
Zelensky’s last Oval Office meeting in February ended in controversy, marked by a heated exchange in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance reportedly berated the Ukrainian leader for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for US aid.
Following what he described as a “substantive” conversation with Trump regarding the Alaska summit, Zelensky said on Saturday that he was looking forward to his Washington visit and to discussing “all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
In a Fox News interview after his meeting with Putin, Trump indicated that responsibility for securing a peace deal now lies largely with Zelensky, as efforts move towards an eventual trilateral summit involving Putin.
“It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump said. “And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it’s up to President Zelensky.”
The leaders of France, Britain, and Germany are scheduled to hold a video conference on Sunday with members of the so-called “coalition of the willing” to discuss the path forward.
In an earlier joint statement, they expressed support for the proposed Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit, but also emphasised that pressure on Russia would continue in the absence of a ceasefire.
“We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the conflict on the ground in Ukraine continues, with Kyiv reporting on Saturday that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile overnight.
In Moscow, Putin described his talks with Trump as “timely” and “very useful.”
“The conversation was very frank, substantive, and, in my opinion, brings us closer to the necessary decisions,” he said.
Following the summit in Alaska, Putin warned Ukraine and European countries against engaging in “behind-the-scenes intrigues” that could disrupt what he referred to as “this emerging progress.”