U.S. President Donald Trump stated he would talk about bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday.
"Substantial progress has been made over the weekend. We aim to conclude this conflict soon," Trump stated late Sunday night. "I believe we have a strong possibility of achieving that," he further noted.
Trump is trying to secure Russia's support for an interim 30-day ceasefire and halt in fighting, which Ukraine accepted last week.
We'll discuss land issues as well as power plants," Trump stated, noting that negotiators had already addressed the topic of "allocating specific assets.
His remarks follow those of special envoy Steve Witkoff, who informed CNN that Trump and Putin were anticipated to converse this week. Witkoff, having recently traveled to Moscow to advance talks, mentioned that his conversations with Putin were both "constructive" and focused on finding solutions.
He avoided addressing multiple challenging points within the ceasefire proposal, including whether Putin would insist on the capitulation of Ukrainian troops in Kursk, an end to Ukraine’s military assistance, and the acknowledgment of territories held by Moscow-controlled forces as part of Russia.
On last Thursday, Putin expressed his support for a ceasefire while outlining various issues that needed further discussion, one of which was the position of Ukrainian forces within the western Russian area of Kursk.
In addition, Moscow has stated that it will not agree to the presence of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine — a proposal put forward by France and the UK.
On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated in interviews published across various newspapers that there was no necessity for Russian acknowledgment of these forces, which he referred to as soldier detachments, since Ukraine maintained sovereignty.
"If Ukraine asks for allied forces to be stationed within its borders, it is not Russia’s place to approve or deny them," according to Macron.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to talk about "subsequent actions" after attending discussions in Saudi Arabia.
Both parties concurred with "aiming to reinstate dialogue between the United States and Russia," as stated in a document distributed by the US State Department, though they did not address the ceasefire suggestion.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has charged that Putin is intentionally delaying the ceasefire proposal to make the negotiations more complicated and extend the duration of the conflict.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed Zelenskyy's critique following a virtual summit on Ukraine held on Saturday. During the event, Starmer described Russia’s reaction as “insufficient.”
A ceasefire plan backed by the United States, which was adopted by Ukraine after discussions in Saudi Arabia, mandated a brief cessation of hostilities. This included pauses in combat operations in the Black Sea region as well as along the front lines throughout the country.
Efforts aimed at achieving a truce intensified as Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone attacks throughout the weekend and into early Monday, reported officials from both nations.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s General Staff verified the retreat of Ukrainian forces from the logistical center at Sudzha in the Kursk region, several days following Russia’s assertion that it had taken control of the zone which was previously used by Ukraine for an unexpected assault in the previous year.