Putin and Trump to talk with proposed Russia-Ukraine truce in balance

Vladimir Putin, the president of the United States, and Donald Trump, the president of Russia, will discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine on Tuesday, with the latter having a prominent role in the discussions.

The US president addressed reporters on Air Force One on Sunday during a flight back to the Washington, DC, area from Florida, to see if we can end that war. “We may be able to, perhaps not, but I believe we have a very good chance.

On Tuesday, I’ll meet with President Putin. Over the weekend, a lot of work has been accomplished.

Putin and Trump will speak via phone, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, who confirmed the announcement on Monday.

During a news briefing, he said, “Yes, this is indeed the case.” For Tuesday, we’re preparing for a conversation like this.

As both sides continued to conduct heavy aerial strikes over the weekend as Russia moved closer to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old foothold in Kursk, west of Russia, Trump is trying to win Putin’s approval of a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine approved last week.

When asked what concessions were being discussed during the ceasefire negotiations, Trump responded, “We’ll be talking about land. Power plants will be the subject of our discussion. We’re already discussing that, including the division of some assets.

Trump’s mention of the largest nuclear plant in Europe, the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, was most likely made in the absence of any specifics. Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of attacks that could have caused an accident at the plant.

According to Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, who is based in Moscow, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is likely to be one of the main topics of discussion.

The largest nuclear facility in Europe, which was under Russian control at the start of the conflict in March 2022, is “. It has since been shut down, but it continues to be run by Russian forces and Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy organization, she said.

The proposed temporary ceasefire is also present. Russia asserts that any security guarantees for its side must be included in any such agreement, which means it opposes Ukraine’s attempt to resurrect, regroup, and restart the conflict, “she continued.

The Kremlin claimed on Friday that US envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow, had contacted Putin to let him know about his ceasefire plan, and that he had been expressing “prudent optimism” that a resolution could be reached to end the three-year conflict.

In separate appearances on US Sunday TV shows, Witkoff, Marco Rubio, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, stressed that a ceasefire and other issues must be resolved before there is a definitive resolution.

After Kyiv accepted the US’s request for a 30-day interim ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Friday that he believed there was a good chance of the Russian conflict to come to an end.

However, Zelenskyy has consistently stated that Russia must renounce the territory it has seized in order for its country’s sovereignty to remain unwavering. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it now controls parts of four of its eastern and southern regions.

Putin claimed that his actions in Ukraine are meant to safeguard Russia’s security from NATO’s expansion, which he sees as an aggressive and hostile West. Russia is engaged in an unprovoked aggression and land grab, according to Ukraine and its Western partners.

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions, that Russia maintains full control over all of Ukraine’s seized territory, and that the size of the Ukrainian army be restricted. Additionally, it wants the lifting of Western sanctions and Ukraine’s first presidential election, which Kyiv claimed is premature given the country’s current state of martial law.

Kaja Kallas, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, claimed on Monday that Moscow’s demands for a ceasefire demonstrated this.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated on Saturday that Western allies, besides the US, were making more preparations to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, with “vigorous plans” set to be released “next week.”

Both France and Britain have indicated that they will send a peacekeeping force to monitor any ceasefire in Ukraine.

Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister, also pledged to support Ukraine’s sovereignty during a meeting with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, on Monday in Paris.

Local authorities reported on Monday that as Moscow launched a barrage of nearly 200 drones against Ukraine, Ukrainian forces overnight launched a drone attack on southern Russia, igniting a fire at an oil refinery.

Before the attack, which sparked a large blaze, the Astrakhan governor Igor Babushkin claimed that employees of the “fuel and energy” complex had been evacuated.

“During the attack, one person was hurt. According to Babuschkin, the victim has now been hospitalized.

Ukraine is currently voicing criticism against Russia for repressing the US to endorse the US-proposed ceasefire without conditions.

Moscow also attacked Ukraine with a barrage of 174 drones, including the Shahed drone, which was designed by Iran, according to the air force.

Source: Aljazeera