Russia's President Putin insists upon taking command of crucial Ukrainian territories as a condition for achieving peace, according to a European diplomat.
In a high-stakes meeting in Alaska, President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin discussed a potential peace agreement to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The Donbas region, a region along Ukraine's eastern border with Russia, has been a point of contention since the pre-war population of around 6.5 million included the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Putin has long maintained that Moscow is not interested in a temporary truce, instead seeking a long-term settlement that supports the Kremlin's interests. He described his talks with Trump as "very frank," and after the meeting, reiterated Russia's desire for a peaceful resolution to all issues in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, Putin also stated that Russia respects the American administration's need for a speedy end to military actions and would like to resolve all issues by peaceful means. He proposed that Moscow should take full control of the Donbas region and freeze the front lines elsewhere in exchange for ending Russia's war with Ukraine.
The key specifics proposed by Russia include a ceasefire along current front lines, Ukraine fully handing over all annexed provinces to Russia, Ukraine becoming a neutral country, respect for the rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine, lifting of Western sanctions against Russia, and demands for Ukraine’s "demilitarization and denazification" according to Putin's terms.
The U.S. and Western perspective, however, is marked by considerable disagreement. Russia wants the peace agreement to be guaranteed by international guarantor states, particularly the UN Security Council permanent members, including Russia itself, with veto rights on future escalations. Russia also demands a significant reduction in the Ukrainian armed forces to prevent rearmament.
On the Western side, the security guarantees envisioned involve NATO countries providing limited, non-combat “reassurance forces” within Ukraine, mainly to offer training and morale support but not active combat troops. Both Trump and U.S. officials have stated explicitly there will be no U.S. troops deployed on Ukrainian soil, though air support may be provided with some European financial backing.
Critics and analysts caution that Russia’s past behavior in conflicts such as Georgia and Chechnya demonstrates a risk that Russia may break any formal agreement if it believes it can do so safely. The real challenge lies in the strength and credibility of security guarantees protecting Ukraine should Russia violate the accord.
The Ukrainian side, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has rejected the idea of surrendering territory in the Donbas, including the remaining 30% of Donetsk that Ukraine still controls. Zelenskyy has previously stated that doing so would be unconstitutional, and the territory could be used as a staging ground for later Russian attacks.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. The European leaders' stance on the preferred method for resolving the conflict (peace deal or ceasefire) remains unclear, as they did not address this issue in their statement welcoming Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve a just and lasting peace.
[1] Associated Press contributed to this report.
[2] Sources: The New York Times, BBC News, The Washington Post.
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