Trump gives Russia and Ukraine until June to end war: Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky saeid that the United States has set a June deadline to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, and that a trilateral round of talks involving Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow is being arranged, with Ukraine having accepted an invitation to meet next week in the United States, likely in Miami. He noted that the discussions would be the first in the U.S. and that Washington aims to press for a clear schedule of events to end the conflict by early summer.The article mentions recent trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, which yielded a prisoner exchange of 314 prisoners and opened a “military-to-military” dialogue but produced no major concrete breakthroughs. ukraine remains firm that the Donbas region must be returned and non-negotiable in any peace deal, while the United States has floated turning Donbas into a free economic zone as part of a potential compromise; Zelensky called for equal, fair treatment and neutral, balanced U.S. involvement. The piece also notes Trump’s continued promises to end wars quickly during the 2024 campaign.
Trump gives Russia and Ukraine June deadline to end war: Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the United States has set a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to end the war between the two countries.
Zelensky said the Trump administration proposed holding another round of trilateral talks seeking to end the war next week. Ukraine has accepted the invitation to the talks, which would take place for the first time in the U.S., likely in Miami, according to Zelensky. Trump has long promised to end the bloodshed in Eastern Europe, vowing to end the war quickly while on the 2024 campaign trail. The president has boasted about ending numerous wars during his first year in office, but has yet to reach his most coveted foreign affairs achievement.
“The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule,” he told reporters. “And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events.”
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The development comes after the U.S. wrapped up earlier this week two days of trilateral meetings between Washington, Ukraine, and Russia. Although Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called the negotiations in Abu Dhabi “constructive,” they appeared to bear no major concrete results, aside from the delegations agreeing to an exchange of 314 prisoners of war, and the U.S. and Russia opening up a “crucial” chain of “military-to-military dialogue.”
Still, Trump sounded an optimistic note, hailing “very, very good talks,” and telling reporters “something could be happening.” While the president is signaling hope, he has expressed vocal frustration after Russia and Ukraine sailed past a number of his deadlines which sought to pressure the countries into negotiations. Last year, Trump set a deadline of August 8 for a deal. He subsequently said he wanted Ukraine to accept a new peace deal by Thanksgiving, and Christmas was later floated as another deadline.
A deal has stalled partly due to breakdowns in negotiations over Russia’s occupation of large swaths of the Donbas region. Ukraine has said the return of the land is a non-negotiable in any peace deal.
The U.S. has offered a compromise, with a proposal to turn the Donbas region into a free economic zone. Zelensky has been open to discussions on the matter, but said Friday that significant questions remained about the implementation of such a zone to ensure it is fair to both parties.
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“I do not know whether this can be implemented, because when we talked about a free economic zone, we had different views on it. So we are talking about some large zone. Part of it is currently under Russian control. Part of the zone that we currently control, that is, the eastern part of Donbas, will be under our control.” Zelensky said.
“If I take one step back to create such a zone, they must take the same. Two steps — two steps. Three steps — three steps,” he added. “I mean the same rules for both sides, the same proposals for both sides. We would very much like to ask for fairer treatment. We see that the US will be neutral. Therefore, when we speak about neutrality, we ask for equal balancing for both sides,” he added.
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