In an interview with The Daily Caller, President Trump expressed confidence in a trilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of an effort to end the war in Eastern Europe. However, he had less confidence in the bilateral huddle between the two Eastern European leaders. Trump has pushed for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, but Russian officials have so far rejected it.
Russia appears to be slow-walking the administration’s effort to broker a peace deal to end the fighting. Ukraine has rejected the prospect of making large territorial concessions to end the war, as U.S. and European officials have continued discussing potential post-conflict security guarantees to prevent another invasion. Trump ruled out having U.S. troops on the ground as part of a security guarantee, but signaled openness to offering U.S. air support to help halt the war.
After meeting with Putin in Alaska earlier this month, a U.S. official touted a major concession from Russia, allowing “NATO-like” security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal. However, the commitment does not seem to be in place as Russia is asking for an effective veto over what those security guarantees would look like.
The conflict has continued with Russia launching massive aerial attacks on Ukraine, with the Trump administration approved a sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles and 3,350 GPS units to Ukraine as part of a $825 million munitions deal.
