Trump questioned Ukraine's readiness for peace talks
US President Donald Trump said that, in his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not willing to sign a peace agreement. He said this on 14 January in an interview with Reuters.
When asked by journalists why US-mediated negotiations have not yet led to an end to the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II, Trump replied with one word: "Zelensky."
At the same time, the US president did not rule out the possibility of meeting with the Ukrainian leader during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, which is to take place next week.
BBC News Ukraine has asked the Office of the President of Ukraine to comment on Donald Trump's latest statements and is awaiting a response.
Kushner, Witkoff and Moscow
In the same interview, Trump said he had no information about a possible meeting between his special envoys, Steve Wigoff and Jared Kushner, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, Bloomberg, citing sources, wrote about a possible visit by American representatives to Moscow this month. However, the White House later stated that no such meeting was currently planned, and the Kremlin did not comment.
It is known that in December, Witkoff and Kushner already visited Moscow, where they held lengthy talks with Putin, but at that time they did not achieve any noticeable progress.
What Trump said earlier
Back in late December, Donald Trump said that peace talks were in the final stages and that both sides were allegedly interested in ending the war. At the same time, he expressed his belief that Russia was ready to join in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Later, in an interview with The New York Times, Trump announced the US's readiness to participate in future security guarantees for Ukraine, believing that renewed Russian aggression was unlikely.
However, in recent weeks, the American president has repeatedly changed his rhetoric, particularly after Russia's statements about an alleged Ukrainian attack on Putin's residence in Valdai.
The positions of Ukraine and Russia
After meeting with Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago on 28 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the peace plan agreed with the US was about 90% ready. According to him, the most difficult issues remain those of territory and the future of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, while security guarantees from the US have already been fully worked out.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin insists that a ceasefire is only possible after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to specify whether this also applies to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, stating that Moscow is considering ending the war solely in the context of achieving its own goals.
