U.S. President Donald Trump said “many elements” of a peace deal for Ukraine had been agreed ahead of his upcoming phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump posted on social media Truth Social that he would speak to Putin on Tuesday morning (18) local time. He said that although some agreements had been reached, “many things” still needed further discussion. “2,500 soldiers are dying every week, on both sides, and this must end immediately.”
“I am very much looking forward to speaking with President Putin,” he said.
He told reporters earlier: “We will see if we can reach a peace agreement, and I believe we can do it.”
In a speech on Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of delaying the war. “This proposal could have been implemented a long time ago.”
“In wartime, every day represents human lives,” he added.
However, there are inconsistencies within the White House administration about the progress of ceasefire talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a meeting with Kiev officials that the “main content” of the conversation was “what the negotiation process would look like” rather than “specific conditions.”
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also struck a more cautious tone after meeting Putin in Moscow last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Britain and France have urged Putin to prove he wants a peace deal with Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised Zelensky’s “courage” to agree to a ceasefire proposal and challenged Russia to do the same. “Too many deaths, too many lives destroyed. Too much destruction. The guns must stop,” he said on social media X.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Putin should immediately agree to a “comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire” and told MPs he had seen “no sign” that Putin was serious about a peace deal.
He warned that Britain and its allies had “more leverage” to pressure Russia to negotiate “seriously.”
The White House struck a more optimistic note on the eve of the call between Trump and Putin, saying peace in Ukraine has “never been closer”.
White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt told reporters on Monday that Trump was “determined” to reach a peace deal. She said of what the US-Russia call might cover: “There is a power plant on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which is a topic for discussion with the Ukrainians. Trump will mention it in his call with Putin tomorrow.”
The facility is likely to be the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since March 2022, and concerns about nuclear accidents in the area have always existed.
When asked about concessions considered in the ceasefire talks, Trump said: “We will discuss land. We will discuss power plants… We are already talking about these, allocating certain assets.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on what the two leaders would discuss, responding: “We never do that.”
Although Putin previously expressed support for a ceasefire, he also listed the conditions for achieving peace.
One of the disputes is Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a military invasion and occupied some territory last August.
Moscow has recently tried to retake the region, while Putin claims to have completely retaken and controlled Kursk. Putin also raised many questions about how to monitor and manage the ceasefire on the eastern front and said he would not accept the presence of NATO troops in the region.
In fact, Ukrainian and American representatives discussed peace proposals in Saudi Arabia last week. After several hours of closed-door meetings, they announced that they had put forward a 30-day ceasefire proposal, which Ukraine said it was ready to accept. In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed at a meeting on Tuesday that their countries will continue to provide “unwavering” support to Ukraine and demanded a “clear commitment” from Russia.
