Moscow has turned down President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Trump suggested resolving the war by establishing new national boundaries based on current battle positions, effectively freezing the conflict along existing front lines.
When questioned about allegations that he had pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire conditions, Trump explained his position to journalists: “We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are — the battle lines.”
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the proposal, particularly the notion that Ukraine might retain portions of the contested Donbas territory.
“This topic was repeatedly raised in various forms during contacts between Russia and the US. The Russian side answered every time, this answer is well known: the consistency of Russia’s position doesn’t change,” Peskov stated.
The White House has not issued a statement on the matter.
Contentious White House Meeting
Trump denied on Sunday that he had attempted to coerce Zelensky into accepting Moscow’s conditions for ending the conflict, which reportedly include surrendering the entire Donbas region.
According to sources who spoke with the Financial Times, last Friday’s meeting between the two leaders at the White House was marked by significant tension. Trump allegedly delivered an expletive-laden tirade during the private discussion.
Reports indicate that Trump echoed arguments made by Putin during a phone conversation the previous day, including insisting that Zelensky cede all of Donbas to Russia as a precondition for peace.
Despite these reports, Trump maintained on Sunday that he “never discussed” territorial concessions and emphasized his desire for an immediate cessation of hostilities with borders determined by current military positions.
“The rest is very tough to negotiate if you’re going to say, ‘You take this, we take that’. There are just so many different permutations,” Trump explained. “So what I say is they should stop right now at the battle lines. Go home, stop killing people and be done.”
Upcoming Diplomatic Efforts
Trump and Putin revealed on Thursday their intention to meet in Budapest, Turkey, in the near future to discuss the Ukrainian situation.
Zelensky has indicated his willingness to participate in such talks if invited, telling reporters Monday: “If it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy… then in one format or another, we will agree.”
A European Union diplomat told Politico that Putin’s Thursday phone call with Trump “appears to have changed President Trump’s mind on Ukraine once again,” though they characterized Friday’s meeting as not “as bleak as reported.”
European officials briefed on the discussions noted that Trump seemed to adopt Putin’s rhetoric word-for-word, even when it contradicted his own recent assessments of Russia’s military position.
Details from the Meeting
Sources familiar with the bilateral meeting described to the Financial Times a heated exchange where Trump discarded maps showing Ukraine’s front-line positions as the conversation deteriorated into a “shouting match.”
Trump reportedly warned Zelensky that refusing Russia’s peace terms would result in Putin “destroying” Ukraine.
The Ukrainian delegation had hoped to secure commitments for long-range Tomahawk missiles during their White House visit but left empty-handed.
When asked about the future of Donbas on Sunday, Trump responded: “Let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now. I think 78 percent of the land is already taken by Russia. You leave it the way it is right now. They can negotiate something later on down the line.”
Trump has intensified his calls for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict following his successful brokering of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
