RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin and Zelensky ready to make a deal – Trump

The leaders of Russia and Ukraine are ready to make a peace deal, US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday. He has been trying to broker a ceasefire between the two neighbors since February. 

A reporter asked Trump on Air Force One about his communication with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. “I think he’s ready to make a deal. And I think that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is ready to make a deal,” Trump said. He declined to go into specifics but added that the US is having “a lot of good conversations about Ukraine and Russia.” 

“We like to see [the conflict] stopped as soon as possible because thousands of people have been killed in a week,” Trump said. “Europe has not been successful in dealing with President Putin, but I think I will be successful.”

Trump made his comments as Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, traveled to Washington, where he reportedly met with America’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. The sides mostly continued discussing steps to normalize bilateral relations frozen by the Biden administration in 2022, Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday evening. He noted the “positive dynamic” of the talks, adding that more meetings need to take place to resolve the differences.

Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, told Fox Business on Wednesday that Trump has been “frustrated” with both Putin and Zelensky. He remained optimistic about the negotiations, saying that the sides were “on the precipice” of a comprehensive ceasefire. 

Moscow has accused Kiev of multiple violations of an energy truce brokered by Trump last month. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has struck fuel depots, gas facilities, and the electrical grid, despite promising to respect a 30-day pause on such attacks. Kiev has claimed that Russia was breaching the same agreement.

Russia has maintained that any long-term settlement would be viable only if the US and Ukraine address the root causes of the conflict. Moscow demands that Kiev abandon its plans to join NATO and recognize Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions as Russian territory.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Zelenskiy says details of foreign troop contingent in Ukraine could be ready in a month

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that European military planners could be ready within a month with details of a foreign troop contingent in Ukraine seen as critical to ending the war with Russia.

Kyiv is seeking security guarantees from its allies in the event of a peace agreement with Moscow to prevent a repeat of its February 2022 full-scale invasion.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after meeting British and French military chiefs, Zelenskiy said many other countries would also contribute to the effort, which envisages foreign troops patrolling Ukrainian land, sea and airspace.

"I think the teams need about a month, no longer, and we will be fully ready with an understanding of this infrastructure," he said.

Zelenskiy added that military working groups would meet weekly until then to finalise the details. He did not specify which other nations would contribute.

Ukrainian army leaders including Kyiv's top general and the chief of its general staff also met the visiting European military officials on Friday.

Zelenskiy, who spoke shortly after a Russian missile attack killed 14 people in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, said Kyiv's partners have "a lot of understanding" of Ukraine's needs.

"Today we discussed the issue of not only the quantity (of troops), but also the mandate," he said. "It is important for me."

RT/Reuters