Putin ties Ukraine peace deal to concessions, claims Russian forces are gaining ground
Putin said Moscow remains ready for a diplomatic settlement with Ukraine, while maintaining that any deal must reflect compromises discussed with Donald Trump.
US President Donald Trump, heading to Alaska for the highly anticipated summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, said on Friday that his goal is to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table and “save a lot of lives”.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked about some of the conditions Russian President Putin had set last year to end the war.
Advertisement
On the question of the possibility of territorial swap, Trump said he would leave that decision to Ukraine.
Advertisement
“They’ll be discussed, but I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision… I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I’m here to get them at a table,” Trump said.
The US President also left open the possibility of Ukraine joining a security arrangement, saying there is a possibility of that but not in the form of NATO.
“Not in the form of NATO because there are certain things that aren’t going to happen — but along with Europe, there’s a possibility of that,” he said.
Trrump further asserted that he is meeting Putin to save lives.
“I’m not doing this for my health. I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country — but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives,” the US President stated.
Ahead of Trump-Putin summit, Russia on Tuesday reiterated that its stance on ending the war in Ukraine has not changed.
Putin had set out his conditions to end the war – withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and abandonment of Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.
However, Ukraine has said that it will not agree to ceding its territories to Russia and will never recognise Russian occupation of its land.
“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky said hours after Trump announced his summit with Putin.
Their conflicting stands leave the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting unpredictable, with the US president already stating that the there is 25 per cent chances their talks will fail.
Advertisement
