The ceasefire idea is off. Trump switches course in 4 big ways.
Trump Switches Course on Ukraine
The Washington Post reports Trump Drops Ceasefire Demand for Ukraine War After Summit with Putin.
An immediate ceasefire to the war in Ukraine had long been a bedrock demand by the U.S., Ukraine and their European allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the backing of European leaders, has insisted that a ceasefire must be in place before any negotiations to end the war. In the run-up to the summit, European officials had expressed guarded optimism that the United States was aligning with them after Trump had earlier pushed for a ceasefire. Zelensky said Saturday he would be traveling to Washington to discuss the summit with Trump.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, following his summit with Putin in Anchorage on Friday.
Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire, insisting on lengthy negotiations for a final peace deal that Ukraine and its European allies say are just a stalling tactic for Russia to press its gains.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had said Trump was “very clear” with Europeans before the Alaska summit that he wants to obtain a ceasefire. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the same day that a ceasefire must be a starting point for negotiations.
In his post, Trump also confirmed that he will meet with Zelensky in Washington on Monday, after the two spoke by telephone.
Zelensky said Saturday that he and Trump had a “long and substantive” telephone conversation lasting around an hour about “the main points of their discussion” in Friday’s summit before being joined on the line by European leaders.
He will meet Trump in Washington “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war,” he said. “Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace.”
In a phone call after the meeting, Trump told Zelensky that Putin wants Ukraine to cede all of Donbas to Russia, in addition to the other territory Moscow has already seized, in exchange for a “promise” to end the war, two people familiar with the call said. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. Russia does not control some 3,500 square miles of Donetsk, a highly-reinforced region of strategic importance to Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself from future Russian attacks.
Friday’s summit ended earlier than planned and without an agreement, though it was widely seen as a public relations success for Putin, who was received as an equal by Trump after years of international isolation following his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity after the summit that he and Putin “agreed on a lot of points” but that “one or two pretty significant items” remained.
“It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump said. “I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit.”
Trump Open to Providing Direct Security Guarantees to Ukraine
In a major change, the Wall Street Journal reports Trump Tells Europeans He Is Open to Providing Direct Security Guarantees to Ukraine
President Trump told European leaders in a phone call from Air Force One that he is more willing than before for the U.S. to provide direct security guarantees to Ukraine, according to people familiar with the content of the conversation.
The nature of potential U.S. involvement to insure any deal to end the war wasn’t specified in the call, these people said. Trump spoke to European leaders while flying back from a summit in Alaska where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House hasn’t made any public statements on security guarantees since Trump landed in Alaska on Friday.
European leaders who held the call with Trump said in a statement afterward that they “welcome President Trump’s statement that the U.S. is prepared to give security guarantees.”
They also warned that they were prepared to increase sanctions and military pressure on Russia until the Kremlin stops the fighting. The leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Finland, Italy and the European Union said Russia “cannot have a veto against Ukraine’s pathway to EU and NATO.”
Severe Consequences? When?
This is a very fluid situation. Even in normal situations, Trump is apt to quickly change his mind.
“Severe Repercussions” Postponed
Trump may have to think about severe consequences in a few weeks, or not.
Four Key Changes
- Severe consequences off
- Ceasefire off
- European involvement switches to on
- Direct Security Guarantees to Ukraine, possible
Few believed number one. Trump’s bluffs are obvious.
Number four is the big one. Let’s see how the base responds to that idea.
How Do You Rate the Summit?
Please note, Trump Grades the Putin Summit a ’10’.
What do you think?
