U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday, August 18, that within “one or two weeks” it could be known whether there are real options to move toward a peace agreement that would end the war between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict that has been active since February 2022.
The statements were made during a meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky, which was also attended by leaders of NATO, the European Union and key countries such as Germany, France, Finland, Italy and the United Kingdom. According to Trump, in the coming days there will be diplomatic contacts that will make it possible to assess whether Moscow and Kiev are ready to sit down to negotiate under certain conditions.
Meeting between Trump and Zelensky
“We will know shortly, in a week or two, whether we can resolve this or whether this horrible fighting continues and we need to continue to do everything we can to stop it,” the U.S. leader said at the start of the meeting.
Trump has repeatedly defended that his priority is to stop the violence, arguing that “thousands of lives are lost every week” in the region.
In fact, last week it gave Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to demonstrate his willingness to reach peace, under threat of imposing new economic sanctions on both Russia and other countries that trade with Moscow, such as India and China.
To date, none of these sanctions have been applied.
During the meeting in Washington, Trump maintained that “both sides are willing” to seek a negotiated exit.
He assured that “that is usually a good sign”.
However, he cautioned that there is still no guarantee that the process can lead to concrete results.
Territoriality and security guarantees
Buzzy
According to diplomatic sources, Trump in meeting with Zelensky and European leaders discussed the possibility of opening a discussion on a territorial exchange.
A proposal that would have been raised by Putin during a previous meeting with the U.S. president in Alaska.
Such a possible agreement would involve Ukraine ceding control of regions such as Donetsk and Lugansk.
That is something the Ukrainian government has called “unacceptable” and contrary to its Constitution.
Trump also claimed that the Russian president would be willing to accept that the United States and Europe grant security guarantees to Ukraine to prevent further aggression in the future, something the Kremlin has not confirmed publicly.
In addition to Zelenski, the meeting was attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
We will know shortly, in a week or two, whether we can resolve this or whether this horrible fighting continues and we need to continue to do everything we can to stop it
Donald Trump, president of US
