United States President Donald Trump says he’ll communicate to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about ending the Ukraine struggle with territorial concessions by Kyiv and management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Energy Plant anticipated to function prominently within the talks.
“We need to see if we will carry that struggle to an finish,” the US president instructed reporters on Air Power One throughout a flight again to the Washington, DC, space from Florida on Sunday. “Perhaps we will, possibly we will’t, however I feel we’ve got an excellent likelihood.
“I’ll be chatting with President Putin on Tuesday. Numerous work’s been achieved over the weekend.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that Putin would communicate with Trump by cellphone however declined to touch upon Trump’s remarks about land concessions and energy crops.
“Sure, that is certainly the case,” he mentioned throughout a information briefing. “Such a dialog is being ready for Tuesday.”
Trump is attempting to win Putin’s help for a proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine accepted final week as each side continued buying and selling heavy aerial strikes by the weekend and Russia moved nearer to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old foothold within the western Russian border area of Kursk.
Requested about what concessions have been being thought of within the ceasefire negotiations, Trump mentioned: “We’ll be speaking about land. We’ll be speaking about energy crops. … We’re already speaking about that, dividing up sure property.”
Trump gave no particulars however was probably referring to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility in Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of assaults which have risked an accident on the plant.
Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari mentioned one of many most important matters of dialogue is certainly anticipated to be the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Energy Plant.
“That is the biggest nuclear facility in Europe, which got here beneath Russian management early within the battle in March 2022. Since then, it has been shut down, however it stays beneath the management of Russian forces and Russia’s state nuclear vitality organisation, Rosatom,” she mentioned.
“There’s additionally the proposed short-term ceasefire. Russia maintains that any such settlement should embody safety ensures for its aspect, that means it doesn’t need Ukraine to make use of the chance to rearm, regroup and restart the battle,” she added.
French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned on Monday that Trump was dedicated to situations that have to be met by Russia for a 30-day ceasefire.
Writing in a publish on X, Macron mentioned it was as much as Russia to show that it actually needed peace, and that he had once more spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concerning the matter on Monday.
The Kremlin mentioned on Friday that Putin had despatched Trump a message about his ceasefire plan by way of US envoy Steve Witkoff, who held talks in Moscow, expressing “cautious optimism” {that a} deal might be reached to finish the three-year battle.
In separate appearances on Sunday TV exhibits within the US, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s nationwide safety adviser, Mike Waltz, emphasised that there have been nonetheless challenges to be labored out earlier than Russia agrees to a ceasefire, a lot much less a closing decision to the struggle.
Zelenskyy mentioned on Friday that he noticed a superb likelihood of ending the Russian struggle after Kyiv accepted the US proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire.
Nevertheless, Zelenskyy has persistently mentioned the sovereignty of his nation will not be negotiable and Russia should give up the territory it has seized. Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and now controls elements of 4 jap and southern Ukrainian areas because it invaded the nation in 2022.
Putin mentioned his actions in Ukraine are geared toward defending Russia’s safety towards what he casts as an aggressive and hostile West, specifically NATO’s eastward growth. Ukraine and its Western companions mentioned Russia is waging an unprovoked struggle of aggression and an imperial-style land seize.
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine drop its NATO ambitions, that Russia retains management of all of the Ukrainian territory it has seized and that the scale of the Ukrainian military be restricted. It additionally needs Western sanctions eased and a presidential election in Ukraine, which Kyiv mentioned is untimely whereas martial legislation is in power.
The European Union’s overseas coverage chief, Kaja Kallas, mentioned on Monday that the situations demanded by Russia to comply with a ceasefire confirmed that Moscow does not likely need peace.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned on Saturday that Western allies apart from the US have been stepping up preparations to help Ukraine within the occasion of a ceasefire with Russia with defence chiefs set to agency up “strong plans” subsequent week.
Britain and France each have mentioned they’re keen to ship a peacekeeping power to watch any ceasefire in Ukraine.
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – who met along with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, on Monday in Paris – additionally pledged to help Ukraine’s sovereignty.
On the entrance strains, Ukrainian forces launched a drone assault on southern Russia in a single day, sparking a hearth at an oil refinery, native authorities mentioned on Monday, as Moscow launched a barrage of almost 200 drones towards Ukraine.
Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin mentioned workers of a “gas and vitality” complicated have been evacuated earlier than the assault, which sparked a big blaze.
“One individual was wounded throughout the assault. The sufferer has now been taken to the hospital,” Babushkin wrote on social media.
The most recent bombardment comes as Ukraine criticised Russia for refusing to simply accept the US-proposed ceasefire with none situations.
Moscow additionally launched its personal barrage of 174 drones on Ukraine, the place air defence items shot down 90, together with the Iranian-designed Shahed drone, the air power mentioned.
About 500 individuals within the southern Ukrainian area of Odesa misplaced energy due to the assaults and one individual was wounded, Governor Oleg Kiper mentioned, including that a number of buildings have been broken, together with a preschool.
