U.S. President Donald Trump is said to disagree with the view that negotiations regarding the Ukraine conflict must lead to an unconditional ceasefire.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), U.S. President Donald Trump is said to disagree with the stance of European Union (EU) officials that negotiations related to the Ukraine conflict must lead to an unconditional ceasefire.
After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19, Mr. Trump had phone exchanges with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
European leaders are said to have urged the U.S. President to exert more pressure on Mr. Putin, demanding that the next round of negotiations to end the conflict must conclude with an unconditional ceasefire agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump. (Photo: Reuters)
However, according to the WSJ, Mr. Trump appears to disagree with the use of the term 'unconditional', especially in the context of the parties seeking a solution to the Ukraine conflict. Ultimately, European leaders are said to have agreed to abandon the insistence on using this phrase.
In recent weeks, Russia has announced several limited ceasefires, mainly on occasions such as Orthodox Easter and Victory Day. Last week, Russia and Ukraine also restarted direct peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey – the first time both sides have sat down together since the negotiations collapsed in 2022.
Ukraine along with some Western countries firmly demands an unconditional ceasefire lasting 30 days. Moscow has repeatedly rejected this request, believing that certain core issues need to be addressed before it can agree to such a measure.
The Kremlin asserts that they are ready to consider a ceasefire in principle, but there must be clear guarantees that Ukraine will not take advantage of the pause to rearm and strengthen its forces to resume the conflict afterward.
Russian officials have also repeatedly emphasized that Moscow wants to pursue a long-lasting and fair peace, addressing the root causes of the conflict, rather than just negotiating short-term tactical pauses.
