Donald Trump has announced he will not convene with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until a nascent Russia-Ukraine peace accord is either finalized or reaches its ultimate stage.
In a detailed post on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump underscored that “tremendous progress” had been achieved over the previous week, characterizing it as the most substantial movement toward peace since the onset of the Ukraine conflict.
He wrote: “Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the Ukraine War (A War that would have NEVER started if I were President!). Last month 25,000 soldiers died. The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.”
Trump then outlined the subsequent phases of the negotiation process:
“In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my National Security Adviser to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians. I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.”
He concluded his statement by specifying when he would be prepared to meet Zelenskyy and Putin:
“I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the Peace Agreement is FINAL or, in its final stages,”
“Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” he added.
A revised peace framework, differing from the initial 28 points, has reportedly secured preliminary acceptance from both Kyiv and Washington. Moscow is presently reviewing these latest modifications.
As reported by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, a U.S. official indicated that Ukraine is nearing an agreement on a peace deal that would bring the war with Russia to an end.
The official also mentioned that some minor aspects of the agreement still need to be resolved.
Nonetheless, overnight, Russia executed a significant missile and drone assault on Ukraine, causing at least seven fatalities and damaging power infrastructure.
Despite the persistent violence, U.S. diplomats deem the ongoing negotiations as the “most promising path” to a potential agreement since the conflict began.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Tuesday that France and its European Union partners were close to finalizing a strategy to support Ukraine and to secure a peace that is “serious” and founded on international law.
Following a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, Macron also affirmed that “all the countries around the table want peace, but they want a peace that is just and lasting.”
He addressed renewed Russian strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure, hoping to avert future aggression, and cautioned that these strikes demonstrate that “on the ground, the reality is the exact opposite of any genuine desire for peace.”
Macron detailed the coalition’s priorities, which encompass increased sanctions on Russia to apply pressure so that “it agrees to negotiate.”
“This includes our sanctions, the price cap on Russian oil, and our actions against the “shadow fleet” involved in illicit oil shipments worldwide,” Macron said.
He further highlighted two pivotal initiatives: finalizing an EU resolution for frozen Russian assets and establishing enduring security guarantees to ensure any ceasefire is both enforceable and durable.
“We all support the pursuit of a credible peace, so this work must continue, and we are coordinating closely with the United States to move forward on a framework that could be acceptable,” he added.
Concluding, Macron stated, “The next few days will allow us to finalize in very concrete terms and to complete these security guarantees. This is essential, essential for negotiating a credible peace, and also essential to guarantee Ukraine’s future.”