Trump plans talks with Putin over truce

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW — US President Donald Trump said he plans to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about settling the conflict in Ukraine, US media reported.

"We're doing pretty well, I think, with Russia … I'll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work's been done over the weekend," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington on Sunday evening.

Trump, who is working to finalize a 30-day cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, said that land and power plants will be part of his conversation with the Russian leader.

"We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday morning confirmed the plans for the two leaders to speak on Tuesday, but refused to disclose what the conversation will be about, saying that "we never get ahead of events" and "the content of conversations between two presidents are not subject to any prior discussion".

Trump's envoy for the conflict, Steve Witkoff, who met for several hours with Putin days ago, told CNN that he thinks "the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week."

But officials also hinted strongly that Ukraine will likely have to make some major concessions if a deal is to be reached.

Michael Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, suggested on Sunday that Ukraine would likely have to both cede some territory to the Russians and give up any aspirations for NATO membership in the foreseeable future.

Russia has long drawn a line against NATO membership for Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with local media on Sunday that Russia will demand concrete security guarantees from the United States and NATO as part of any agreement on Ukraine.

Ukraine's neutral status and NATO's rejection of Ukraine's membership must be central to these guarantees, said Grushko.

Since 2019, the number of military contingents on NATO's eastern flank has doubled, posing a significant threat to Russia, he said, adding that the ongoing rearmament of European countries adds to Moscow's security concerns.

He said the deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine would only be feasible if both parties to the conflict deem it necessary.

Moscow remains open to separate negotiations with the European Union if Brussels signals a willingness to engage, he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on Saturday that, "Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it's not something for Russia to accept or not."

Xinhua - Agencies