Trump will speak with Putin on Tuesday about ending the war in Ukraine.

BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, this Tuesday about ending the war in Ukraine, according to his own announcement and the Kremlin's confirmation. Trump asserted that the respective negotiating teams have already addressed the issue of "dividing some assets" and that "they've done a lot of work over the weekend." He made these comments to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Washington. Moscow has so far been reluctant to call a ceasefire.

"We want to see if we can end the war. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance," the president said. The United States has presented a 30-day ceasefire proposal to Russia, which Ukraine accepted last week, but on the ground, the attacks have intensified. Particularly, Russian troops are advancing in the Kursk region, occupied by Ukrainian troops since last summer and which Moscow is recapturing before sitting down at the table. "We'll talk about land and power plants," Trump said when asked by reporters about what concessions Ukraine should make.

Trump's comments come after his envoy Steve Witkoff said in a CNN interview on Sunday that Putin, with whom he met on Wednesday, "accepts Trump's philosophy" on the ceasefire. Witkoff assured that the conversation with the Russian president had been "positive" and "solution-based," but did not clarify anything about the Kremlin's reservations about the truce: the deployment of European troops, the recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territories, or the end of military aid to Kiev. Putin said on Thursday that he was willing to discuss the truce, but that there were still major issues pending negotiation.

European troops

One of the sticking points remains the Kremlin's refusal to accept the deployment of European troops on Ukrainian territory to verify the ceasefire. Putin doesn't want to hear about it. because their objective is to keep Ukraine within their sphere of influence. European military powers have offered to send troops as a guarantee for Kiev and also to show their commitment to the United States, and this Monday European foreign ministers will discuss in Brussels how to move forward. French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated this weekend that, as a sovereign country, Ukraine should not ask the Kremlin for permission to accept the European deployment: "If Ukraine asks for allied forces to be deployed on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject it," Macron said in an interview.

On Sunday night, the number two in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Grushko, said that an armistice with Ukraine should respond to Moscow's demands: "We will ask for ironclad security guarantees, including Ukraine's neutral status."

While the diplomatic front moves behind the scenes, the Ukrainian president has replaced his chief of staff, Anatoly Barhilevich, with Andri Hnatov, whom he described as a "fighter" who should contribute "more experience in planning offensive operations" and more. Kiev's objective is to improve the efficiency and coordination of the army.

Germany, looking to increase defense investment

This Tuesday, the German lower house, the Bundestag, and on Friday, the Bundesrag - the regional chamber - must vote. The amendment to the Constitution announced by the future head of government, Friedrich Merz, last FridayThe reform would expand Germany's ability to borrow, allowing for multi-million-euro investments in defense and infrastructure, responding to Brussels' call for European military autonomy and an attempt to revive Europe's largest economy.

The plan calls for reinvesting €500 billion in infrastructure—of which €100 billion will be allocated to climate policies—and excluding the defense budget from the debt ceiling, which until now has been limited to 0.35% of GDP. Conversely, if the agreement between the Conservatives and Social Democrats with the Greens is implemented, defense borrowing capacity would be increased to 1% of GDP.