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WASHINGTON, 17 March – US President Donald Trump said he plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to end the war in Ukraine. His statement was made on board Air Force One during a night flight from Florida to Washington, Reuters reports.
“We want to see if we can end this war. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” Trump said.
30-day truce: a chance for peace or a tactical pause?
The main topic of the conversation will be the 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine adopted last week. At the same time, the fighting has not stopped: Russia continues massive attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns, and is trying to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of their foothold in the Kursk region.
Trump is keen to persuade Putin to agree to a truce, but admits that the conversation will not be easy. “We’re going to talk about land. We’re going to talk about power plants,” he told reporters, hinting at the division of key assets between the two sides.
According to him, the United States has already held intensive talks with Russia in Moscow, and the two sides “discussed a lot”. However, it is still unclear what a compromise might look like.
Is Zelenskyy a difficult partner for Trump?
Trump’s attitude to the war in Ukraine and its leadership remains controversial. It is known that his recent meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House was held in a tense atmosphere and ended with the Ukrainian president leaving Washington early.
Trump explicitly stated that working with Ukraine is more difficult than with Russia. This is his latest attempt to demonstrate a more flexible approach to Moscow, which is causing concern among Kyiv’s allies.
What will happen next?
If Russia does not agree to the US terms, Trump hints at possible financial consequences for the Kremlin. “We can do something very bad for Russia economically,” he said, referring to sanctions or restrictions on oil and gas operations.
However, the main question remains: does Trump really want to establish peace in Ukraine, or is his goal to strike a deal favourable to Moscow?
We will get an answer to this question after his talks with Putin.
