Trump optimistic before speaking with Putin: "We've never been this close to peace in Ukraine."

WashingtonUS 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 "sharing some assets" and said 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. So far, Moscow has been reluctant to enter into a ceasefire. Instead, the White House insisted Monday afternoon that "we've never been closer to a peace agreement than we are at this moment."

"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," Trump said. The United States has presented a 30-day ceasefire proposal to Russia, which Ukraine accepted last week, but on the ground, attacks have intensified. Particularly, Russian troops are advancing in the Kursk region, occupied by Ukrainian troops since last summer, which Moscow is recapturing before sitting down at the negotiating table. "We'll talk about territories and power plants," Trump said when asked by reporters about the concessions Ukraine should make. Two people from the US administration explained to the American news website Traffic light Trump is considering recognizing Crimea as Russian territory in order to reach a peace agreement.

Last week, Trump stated during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he had already spoken with Zelensky. over the territories that would be lost by reaching an agreement. He also mentioned negotiations regarding a "disturbed power plant." The plant in question the US president is referring to is likely the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, one of the largest in the world, located on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

US special 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 asserted that the conversation with the Russian president had been "positive" and "solution-based," but shed no light on 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.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt avoided answering the question of whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had authorized Trump to speak on his behalf in the call with Putin, given that the central topic will be the territorial issue. "The president and his entire national security team have been in direct contact with President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian team, which has been part of the conversation between the president's team and the Ukrainians about where these lines will be drawn and any other specific details," Leavitt responded. She also didn't rule out Trump following through on the threat of further sanctions and tariffs on Russia if the call doesn't end well: "It's something the president has already put on the table, and he's certainly willing to do it if necessary."

Ukraine, which has already agreed to support the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US, has once again reiterated its red lines ahead of tomorrow's meeting. The chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, explained this morning on the BBC that they have "three very firm red lines when it comes to Ukraine": territorial integrity, which is "non-negotiable"; NATO membership; and defense capabilities. Merezhko remains firm: "We cannot accept Putin's suggestions or any kind of limits on our defense capabilities."

The insistence on the country's territorial integrity contrasts with Trump's assertion of Rutte. For his part, the tycoon continues to align himself with the Kremlin's interests and considers Ukraine's pre-2014 borders lost. "I think we'll talk about territory; it's a lot of territory. It's very different from how it was before the war," he told reporters from Air Force One on Sunday.

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 demonstrate their commitment to the United States, and this Monday, European foreign ministers will discuss how to move forward in Brussels.

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 requests that allied forces be deployed on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject it."

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 bring "more experience in planning offensive and development operations." Kiev's objective is to improve the efficiency and coordination of the army.