Trump: There Will Be No Peace with Russia Without Concessions to Ukraine
US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should abandon hopes of returning Crimea and joining NATO if it wants to end the war with Russia. In his post on Truth Social, he emphasized that President Volodymyr Zelensky "can stop the war immediately if he wants, or continue to fight."
Trump has repeatedly raised the topic of territorial concessions as part of a possible peace deal. However, Zelensky categorically rejects the idea of a land swap.
Meanwhile, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff reported that during the talks in Alaska, Vladimir Putin for the first time allowed the possibility of providing Ukraine with security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter. This was the main breakthrough of the summit.
NATO Chief Mark Rutte confirmed that an "Article 5-like agreement" is being discussed - collective defense against new attacks. However, the details remain unclear: how the US and Europe will be able to legally enshrine such guarantees.
Zelensky, who arrived in Washington for talks with Trump and European leaders, said he was ready for a personal meeting with Putin, but only after a ceasefire. "We need real security guarantees, not formal promises," he stressed.
A meeting between Trump, Zelensky and seven European leaders, including Macron, Meloni, Merz and von der Leyen, took place at the White House on August 18. Trump said that the United States and the EU are ready to take on the role of guarantors of the future peace, although for now it is not about Ukraine's full membership in NATO, but about a "hybrid security model."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni noted that it was Trump's intervention that changed Moscow's position for the first time in three and a half years and opened the way to dialogue. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted on the need for at least a temporary truce before the new meeting.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin confirmed the telephone conversation between Putin and Trump, calling it "frank and constructive."
Zelensky said that Ukraine is counting on "everything" - from weapons and army training to intelligence and allied missions. "Without this, no peace agreements are possible," he said.
Trump has made it clear that he is willing to consider possible “territory swaps,” although Kyiv rejects giving up Donbass or other regions.
According to Trump, “there is a good chance to stop the war that has been going on for almost four years.” But, as his adviser Marco Rubio noted, there is still a long way to go to a real peace agreement.