Europe: "Russia Has No Intention of a Ceasefire"
Pressure on Russia to Intensify
On November 25 (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States stated that the war between Russia and Ukraine would soon come to an end. However, the Russian side warned that the situation could change if the ceasefire proposal currently being discussed by the United States and Ukraine is amended, suggesting that the peace negotiations may not proceed smoothly. Europe has determined that Russia has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire and has decided to intensify its pressure on Russia.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stand next to the turkey 'Gobble' at the turkey pardon ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden on the 25th (local time). Photo by AP
At the turkey pardon ceremony held at the White House ahead of Thanksgiving Day on the 27th, President Trump said, "I believe we are very close to a ceasefire agreement," adding, "Over the past nine months, we have ended eight wars, and we are working to resolve the last remaining conflict. It is not easy, but we will eventually get there."
After the event, he also claimed on Truth Social, the social networking service he founded, that significant progress had been made.
President Trump stated, "Over the past week, our team has made tremendous progress regarding efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine," and added, "The original 28 provisions in the draft prepared by the United States have been fine-tuned, and now only a few issues remain." He continued, "To finalize this peace initiative, I have instructed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll is scheduled to meet with the Ukrainian side. I hope to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Putin soon. However, this will only happen if the ceasefire agreement is completed or is in its final stages."
The United States and Ukraine previously held talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23 and prepared a new ceasefire proposal. The number of provisions included in the original U.S. peace initiative was reduced from 28 to 19, and it is reported that many of Ukraine's demands have been reflected. The new proposal is said to include plans to increase the size of the Ukrainian military from the current 600,000 to 800,000 troops, as well as to ease language restricting further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The previous proposal reportedly included Ukraine relinquishing territory, being barred from joining NATO, and reducing its military size to 600,000, which had sparked opposition from Ukraine and European countries.
Contrary to President Trump's claim that a ceasefire is imminent, Russia has already expressed its disagreement. According to Russian media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, "If the spirit and document of Anchorage are excluded from the key provisions of the U.S. draft, it will be a completely different situation." This means that the ceasefire-related agreements reached at the U.S.-Russia summit held in Anchorage, Alaska, in August must be reflected. However, he added, "We are still open to the negotiation process," indicating that he is not ruling out the possibility of a ceasefire agreement altogether.
However, European countries have decided to intensify pressure on Russia, judging that Russia does not want a ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron said after a virtual meeting attended by various European countries, the United States, and Ukraine, "Several participating countries shared details of their direct talks with the Russian side, particularly President Vladimir Putin, but at present, Russia does not appear to have any intention of agreeing to a ceasefire." He added that they would increase the level of pressure by utilizing frozen Russian assets and other measures.
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