TL;DR – Russia – Ukraine Peace deal – Latest
- Donald Trump claims Russia is “making concessions” in Ukraine peace talks, asserting progress and that Kyiv is satisfied with developments.
- Trump no longer adheres to a Thanksgiving deadline for an agreement and has downplayed territorial concessions Ukraine may face.
- As negotiations proceed, Russian attacks continue, prompting concerns about the ongoing conflict amidst the peace discussions.
Russia ‘making concessions’ and Ukraine ‘happy’ with peace deal talks, says Trump
Donald Trump has claimed Russia is “making concessions” in talks to end the Ukraine war – and that Kyiv is “happy” with how talks are progressing.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew out to his Florida estate for Thanksgiving, Mr Trump said “we’re making progress” on a deal and said he would be willing to meet with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy once they are close to an agreement.
He also said his previously announced deadline of Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, was no longer in place – and that the White House’s initial 28-point peace plan, which sparked such concern in Kyiv, “was just a map”.
Asked if Ukraine had been asked to hand over too much territory, Mr Trump suggested that “over the next couple of months [that] might be gotten by Russia anyway”.
Moscow’s concessions are a promise to stop fighting, “and they don’t take any more land”, he said.
“The deadline for me is when it’s over,” he added. “And I think everybody’s tired of fighting at this moment.”