Trump says Ukraine, Russia will have to swap some land for peace
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug 11) that both Ukraine and Russia would need to cede land to each other to end the war, adding that his upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would gauge whether a deal was possible.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to speak with Trump ahead of his summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday, amid fears in Europe that Washington could dictate peace terms unfavourable to Kyiv.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump said his meeting with Putin would be a “feel-out” session to assess the Russian leader’s willingness to make peace.
“This is really a feel-out meeting,” he said. “I’ll probably know in the first two minutes whether progress is possible. I may leave and say, ‘Good luck.’ And that’ll be the end. I may say, ‘This is not going to be settled.’”
“I’m going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I’m going to be telling him, you’ve got to end this war,” Trump told reporters. “You’ve got to end it.”
Trump said the US goal was a speedy ceasefire in the three-and-a-half year-old conflict and that a future meeting could include Zelenskyy. He plans to talk to European leaders soon after his meeting with Putin.
The US president has hardened his stance towards Moscow by agreeing to allow additional US weapons to reach Ukraine and threatening tariffs against buyers of Russian oil, but European officials remain concerned he could agree to concessions that undermine Ukraine’s security.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Monday, and both welcomed diplomatic efforts “to bring peace” but stressed these must be built “with Ukraine - not imposed upon it,” according to a readout from Downing Street.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned against any concessions to Moscow, saying “the sequencing of the steps is important - first an unconditional ceasefire with a strong monitoring system and ironclad security guarantees.”
She said the EU would also work on a 19th package of sanctions against Russia and increase military and budget support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, in a post on X, warned that concessions to Russia “do not persuade a killer” and urged countries to maintain sanctions until Ukraine receives security guarantees.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits,” he said.
POSSIBLE THREE-WAY MEETING
Trump said a future meeting could involve Zelenskyy and could become a three-way session including himself and Putin. He added that he planned to speak with European leaders shortly after his talks with Putin, with the goal of securing a speedy ceasefire.
The US president has floated the idea of land swaps before, but neither Kyiv nor Moscow has expressed willingness to cede territory. European governments have warned that major concessions to Russia could create long-term security risks for the West.
WAR ENTERS THIRD YEAR
Ukraine has been fighting to repel Russian forces since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine holds little Russian land.
Trump said “there’ll be some land swapping going on” and that Russia controlled “very prime territory”. “We’re going to try to get some of that territory back,” he added, without offering specifics.
Zelenskyy spoke on Monday with the leaders of India and Saudi Arabia in a bid to mobilise support for Kyiv beyond Europe ahead of Trump’s meeting with Putin.
Putin has also been active diplomatically, holding calls with the leaders of China, India, Brazil and several ex-Soviet states to brief them on his US contacts.
Germany will host a virtual meeting of European leaders on Wednesday to coordinate pressure on Russia ahead of a European call with Trump. Zelenskyy and EU and NATO officials are expected to join.
Trump’s administration has not revealed its proposed territorial exchanges or how it would ensure Putin abides by a ceasefire.
His special envoy to Ukraine, retired US Army General Keith Kellogg, has previously floated a “resiliency force” of European NATO troops to secure the frontlines and an 18-mile-wide demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine - with no US troops involved.
Britain and France in July convened a “coalition of the willing” of more than 30 nations to develop operational plans for a European air, sea and land “reassurance force” and to rebuild Ukraine’s military. Kellogg has also said Ukraine would not join NATO, meeting one of Putin’s demands.
