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President Donald Trump endorses Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s proposal for Moscow to assume complete control over the Donbas region and maintain the status quo along other front lines as part of an agreement with Ukraine, confirmed a European diplomat to Fox News.
Donbas had a pre-war population of around 6.5 million and includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Following a meeting with Putin on Friday in Alaska, Trump informed European allies that the Russian president restated his desire for the pivotal Luhansk and Donetsk regions. However, Putin seemed amenable to the prospect of resolving the deadlock in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson alongside maintaining a freeze at the front lines.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously rejected the idea of surrendering the territory in the Donbas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously refused to cede territory in the Donbas. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
After consultations with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump declared on social media on Saturday that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to proceed directly to a Peace Agreement, which would conclude the war, rather than a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often fails to endure.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shared with ZDF television that Trump conveyed Russia “appears ready to negotiate based on the so-called line of contact rather than the administrative borders.”
In a statement after the call with Trump, major European leaders did not address whether they preferred a peace deal over a ceasefire.
Trump reversed his support for a ceasefire and instead is seeking a peace agreement. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The leaders stated they “welcomed President Trump’s efforts to halt the violence in Ukraine, cease Russia’s war of aggression, and secure a just and lasting peace.”
Putin described his talks with Trump in Alaska as “very frank.”
“We, of course, respect the position of the American administration, which sees the need for a speedy end to military actions,” Putin said at the follow-up meeting at the Kremlin, adding that “we would like to move to resolving all issues by peaceful means.”
