US President Donald Trump said he is scheduled to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with negotiators already discussing “dividing certain assets.”
“I'll be talking to President Putin on Tuesday. Trump told Air Force 1 reporters during a late flight from Florida to the Washington area.
“We want to see if we can end that war. Maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good opportunity,” Trump said.
Trump is trying to win Putin's support for the 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week.
“We're talking about the land. When asked about concessions, Trump said. “I think there's already a lot of discussion about it by both Ukraine and Russia. We're already talking about it and splitting certain assets.”
The comments came hours after his envoy, Steve Witkov, said the Russian president would “accept the philosophy” of Trump's ceasefire and conditions of peace.
Witkov told CNN that over the course of hours last week the discussion with Putin was “positive” and “solution-based.”
However, when asked whether Putin's demands included international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized as Russia by Russia, the ability to mobilize Ukraine, suspension of Western military aid, restrictions on bans on foreign peacekeeping forces, and surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
Putin said Thursday that he supported the ceasefire but outlined many details that need to be negotiated before the deal is completed.
Moscow, among other things, firmly opposes the deployment of European troops and offers security guarantees to Ukraine after the final ceasefire.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia's permission was not needed, noting that Ukraine is a sovereign state. “If Ukraine demands that allied forces be in its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject them,” he said in remarks cited by several French newspapers.
Later on Sunday, Russian deputy minister Alexander Gurshko said that a long-term peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow's demands.
“We require that Ironclad's security guarantee be part of this agreement,” Russian media outlet Izvestia said Grushko.
“Part of these guarantees is that Ukraine's neutral position and the NATO countries refuse to accept it in their alliance.”
Diplomatic development took place when Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky said he had replaced the chief of the military general.
According to the Communique, Anatoliy Bargylevych has been replaced by Andriy Gnatov, “who is tasked with increasing the efficiency of the management team.”
“He's a man in combat,” Zelensky said of Gunatov. “His job is to bring more combat experiences, brigade experiences in planning and management, defensive and offensive experiences, and more aggressive development of the corps system,” he added.
The Ukrainian army, which has grown since being mobilized to repel Russia's February 2022 invasion, is in the process of reorganizing its army corps and improving coordination.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on his Facebook page:
“This includes rebuilding the command system and implementing clear standards,” he said Gunatov has “more than 27 years of military experience.”
Bargylevych has been appointed Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Defense, he added.
Reuters and the Agency France Press contributed to this report
