Trump campaign outlines three-stage strategy for Ukraine war
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Advisors of the US president explain that the short-term goal of Donald Trump in negotiations regarding Ukraine is a personal meeting of the leaders of the US, Ukraine, and Russia to discuss peace terms, Axios reports.
As the outlet writes, according to one of Trump’s advisors, everything else is “just a prelude” to this moment.
"I'm sure Putin is waiting to see how Monday goes, but it's everybody's expectation, not just the always-rosy Donald Trump, but also [special envoy Steve] Witkoff and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio, that Putin will meet" with Zelenskyy," one Trump advisor told Axios.
The process is planned to be conducted in three stages:
-
A bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin to agree on steps toward peace.
-
A bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelensky to coordinate Kyiv’s positions.
-
A trilateral meeting with the participation of all three leaders for the final discussion of the deal.
At the summit in Anchorage, Putin put forward maximalist demands regarding five regions of Ukraine, including the Donetsk region.
Russian leader's "wishes"
The outlet notes that Putin wanted everything. And at some point, he seemed so unyielding in his demand that Trump was ready to walk away.
"If Donetsk is the thing here and if there is no give, we should just not prolong this," Trump recalled telling Putin, the outlet’s source reports.
Advisors note that, supposedly, the Russian dictator could capture all of Donetsk by October, but US intelligence assessments differ.
Despite this, a representative of the US administration reports progress.
Putin agreed to the possibility of security guarantees from the US and European allies to deter further aggression.
According to the advisors, this could even include the deployment of American troops in Ukraine, although details are not yet disclosed.
Trilateral meeting
Let us remind ourselves that in the EU, there are differing opinions regarding the location of the potential trilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin.
Additionally, the Ukrainian president is prepared to participate in trilateral negotiations in any format, should they occur.
