Donald Trump said that some provisions of a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine had already been agreed upon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump made the statement on his social network Truth Social late on March 17, ahead of a scheduled phone call with Putin.
“Tomorrow morning I will be speaking to President Putin concerning the War in Ukraine. Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains,” Trump wrote. “I look very much forward to the call with President Putin,” he added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on March 17 that Trump was “determined” to secure a peace agreement, BBC News reported. When asked what Trump planned to discuss with Putin, Leavitt said: “There’s a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion with the Ukrainians, and he will address it in his call with Putin tomorrow.” She was likely referring to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which Russia seized in March 2022.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on March 16, Trump said negotiators were already discussing “dividing up certain assets,” including territory and power plants. “We’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants, that’s a big question,” he said, as quoted by CNN. “But I think we have a lot of it already discussed, very much, by both sides, Ukraine and Russia. We’re already talking about that – dividing up certain assets.”
As Bloomberg noted, Trump’s remarks “suggest that many decisions have already been made — with or without Ukraine.” His critics, the outlet added, fear that he “may offer concessions to Russia without Ukraine’s consent.”
### Putin endorses idea of a ceasefire — with ‘nuances’ Zelensky says the statement is ‘manipulative’ but Trump thinks it’s ‘promising’### Putin endorses idea of a ceasefire — with ‘nuances’ Zelensky says the statement is ‘manipulative’ but Trump thinks it’s ‘promising’