Trump Abruptly Shifts to Accept Putin's Peace Proposal
"Free Pass for Russia to Continue the War"
Criticism Intensifies
It has been reported that U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders that "swift peace negotiations with Russia would be possible if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were to give up the Donbas region."
On August 16 (local time), The New York Times (NYT), citing two senior European officials, reported that President Trump conveyed this message to European leaders while sharing the results of the U.S.-Russia summit held the previous day in Alaska.
According to the senior officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to President Trump that he would provide a written guarantee stating, "If Ukraine withdraws from Donbas, I will agree to a ceasefire along the current front lines and will not reattack Ukraine or any European country."
Donbas refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Currently, Russia controls most of Luhansk and about 75% of Donetsk. However, strategic strongholds in western Donetsk remain under the control of Ukrainian forces.
Immediately after the U.S.-Russia summit, President Trump reportedly delivered this message to President Zelensky and European leaders, demanding that they "stop attempting to secure a mere ceasefire from Russia."
President Zelensky is expected to meet with President Trump at the White House on August 18 to discuss this issue. He has consistently maintained his position that he cannot cede any of Ukraine's existing territory, including Donetsk.
Meanwhile, there is growing criticism that President Trump, by abruptly shifting to accept Putin's peace proposal, has effectively given Russian President Vladimir Putin a "free pass" to continue the war indefinitely.
For now, Ukrainian and European leaders appear to be reviewing President Trump's proposal positively. President Zelensky stated, "We support President Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting among Ukraine, the United States, and Russia," adding, "Key issues can be discussed at the leadership level, and the trilateral format is suitable for this." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also remarked, "Trump's efforts have brought an end to the war in Ukraine closer than ever before."
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