Trump Believes Putin Wants to End Ukraine War Despite Failed Negotiations

Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war.

Washington:

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war, despite talks between the Russian president and American negotiators concluding without an agreement.

Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner held negotiations with Putin in the Kremlin until early morning hours but failed to achieve a breakthrough in settling Europe's most severe conflict since World War II.

The Kremlin stated Wednesday that their army's recent battlefield victories in Ukraine had strengthened their position, noting that the sides couldn't find a "compromise" and that Kyiv's NATO connections remained a critical issue.

"I thought they had a very good meeting yesterday with President Putin," Trump responded when an AFP reporter inquired about the negotiations in the Oval Office.

"What comes out of that meeting? I can't tell you, because it does take two to tango."

When asked whether Witkoff and Kushner perceived that Putin genuinely wanted to stop Russia's nearly four-year invasion, Trump answered: "He would like to end the war. That was their impression."

"Their impression was very strongly that he'd like to make a deal," he added.

Witkoff and Kushner presented an updated American plan to end the conflict, which proposed Ukraine ceding portions of the eastern Donbas region and agreeing not to join NATO.

Successes of the Russian army

Although the White House expressed optimism before the Kremlin talks, Moscow later indicated it found certain aspects of the plan unacceptable.

Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine accelerated last month, and Putin recently stated that Moscow is prepared to continue fighting to seize the remaining claimed territory if Kyiv refuses to surrender it.

"The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the US-Russia discussions, to reporters including AFP.

Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the entire plan.

Russia also affirmed its commitment to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning that Moscow was ready to fight Europe if it wanted war.

"We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Trump said Ukraine was "pretty well" aligned with a US-backed proposal to end the conflict, but added that Kyiv should have agreed to a deal during his tense February meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

"When I was in his office and I talked about no cards, I said, 'you have no cards,' that was the time to settle," he added.

Opportunity to end the war

The fresh talks coincide with NATO's pledge to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing, but emphasized that the alliance should ensure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".

Zelensky stated that while a window of opportunity for peace has opened, it must be accompanied by pressure on Moscow.

"The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia," he said in a regular evening address.

Russian troops have been advancing across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.

Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk, but a Ukrainian army unit fighting in the city stated urban combat was still ongoing.

European countries have expressed concerns that Washington and Moscow might reach agreements without their input and have spent recent weeks attempting to modify the US plan to prevent forcing Kyiv into capitulation.