Trump Assures That Putin 'Wants to End the War' in Ukraine
On Wednesday, Donald Trump stated that Vladimir Putin wants to "end the war" in Ukraine, following a "very good meeting" in Moscow between the Russian president and his envoy Steve Witkoff, who is set to meet with Ukrainian negotiator Roustem Oumerov in Florida on Thursday.
For the past two weeks, Washington has been attempting to implement a plan to halt the war initiated by Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, finding a compromise has proven to be quite challenging, as Russian troops continue to advance slowly despite incurring significant losses.
Negotiations are scheduled to continue on Thursday with a meeting in the Miami area between Oumerov and Witkoff, a Florida-based real estate developer, who will be accompanied by the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Both Americans were in Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting lasting over five hours with Putin.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that they had the "impression" that the Russian president "wanted to end the war," but he did not provide details on the next steps of the negotiations.
"What will come out of this meeting? I can't tell you," the American president added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov suggested that Russia's recent military "successes" had "influenced the outcome" of this meeting, referencing Moscow's claimed capture of the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the east.
Military observers from the DeepState project, aligned with Ukrainian forces, confirmed that a large part of the city was under Russian control, but not all of it.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian unit defending this area claimed that Russian forces were "caught up" in urban combat and spreading "disinformation" about the "alleged capture of Pokrovsk."
- "Pressure" -
Since Washington unveiled its plan to end the conflict, initially viewed—particularly by Europeans—as closely aligned with Russian positions, it has been revised following consultations with Ukrainians.
During a meeting on Wednesday in Brussels attended by negotiator Oumerov, several NATO countries, including Norway, Poland, and Germany, announced plans to acquire around one billion euros worth of American weapons for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the alliance must ensure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to continue fighting."
"Negotiations must be accompanied by pressure on Russia," repeated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message on Wednesday.
In this context, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a two-year EU plan in Brussels on Wednesday to finance Ukraine and "put it in a strong position" during negotiations.
- UN Resolution -
Intense diplomatic activity has yet to yield an agreement, particularly regarding sensitive territorial issues: Moscow notably demands that Kyiv fully cede the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which remains the epicenter of fighting.
On another sensitive matter, the United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday on a non-binding resolution demanding that Moscow "ensure the return" of Ukrainian children "transferred or forcibly deported" to Russia.
Through the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, Moscow expressed on Wednesday its readiness to meet "as often as necessary" with American officials to find a resolution to the war.
Just hours before his meeting at the Kremlin with Witkoff and Kushner, Vladimir Putin threatened Europeans, accusing them of seeking to "prevent" peace efforts.
"We do not intend to go to war with Europe, but if Europe desires and starts, we are ready right now," he declared.
This is evidence that the Russian president "does not take peace seriously," reacted the spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday.
AFP