France, US Expect Truce Soon In Russia-Ukraine War
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – In a turnaround, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced Monday that Russia would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a peace deal, and French President Emmanuel Macron said a truce could be agreed upon within weeks.
The comments followed intense talks at the White House between Trump and Macron amid concerns that the U.S. and Russia will agree on Ukraine’s future without Europe at the negotiation table.
But the meeting came as the United States voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, siding with North Korea, Belarus, and other Russia-aligned countries over European allies.
Democrats branded the move a “disgrace,” and there was also shock in European nations siding with Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Macron said Europe was prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, including peacekeepers, although they would not be sent to the frontline.
Additionally, France and Britain are reportedly asking the U.S. to provide air support, although Trump has defied calls for American troops to be on the ground.
Trump said he saw no objection to European troops being sent to Ukraine to serve as peacemakers, adding that he had raised the idea with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Yeah, he will accept it,” the U.S. president said. “I’ve asked him that question.”
‘NOT MORE WAR’
“Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war. He doesn’t mind. But I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it,” Trump added.
Trump pleased the Kremlin last week by branding the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a “dictator” and saying Ukraine started the war, although Russia invaded the country on February 24, 2022.
At a joint press conference in the White House East Room, Trump said. “It’s time to end this bloodletting and restore peace. We’ve had some great conversations, including with Russia … Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible and ultimately a permanent peace.”
In separate remarks, French President Macron added that Russia and Ukraine could agree to a truce “in the weeks to come” but warned that peace cannot mean Ukraine’s ” surrender.”
Macron spoke in an interview with U.S. broadcaster Fox News after meeting Trump at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump said earlier in the Oval Office that the war could end soon.
“I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump stressed, standing alongside Macron after welcoming him to the White House.
PROVIDING SECURITY GUARANTEES
Macron said he spoke with European leaders, and “many” of them are ready to provide security guarantees, a key demand of Ukraine in any peace deal.
Trump said he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit the White House in the next two weeks to sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare minerals in compensation for the billions it received in U.S. aid.
In response to a reporter’s question, the American president declined to call Putin a dictator despite using the word to describe Zelenskyy last week.
Zelenskyy, who has said he would step down in exchange for peace with a guarantee that Ukraine could join the NATO military alliance called Monday for a “real, lasting peace” this year.
Putin indicated a shift in his stance on Monday, saying in an interview with state television that European countries can “participate” in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
He also said that U.S. and Russian companies were “in touch” on joint economic projects — including strategic minerals in occupied Ukraine.
Trump said his team is “constantly” speaking with the Russians, including about potential U.S.-Russian business deals, representing a shocking change in U.S. policy.
MAKING DECISIVE BREAK
“My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy values of the past administration, and frankly the past,” said Trump, who has demanded the United States be paid back for the billions of dollars in aid it has given Kyiv.
The Biden administration’s strategy was to isolate Russia politically and economically and impose sweeping sanctions on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
With Trump at the helm, “We are open to contacts with the American side, particularly on irritants in bilateral relations,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.
Russian and U.S. teams plan to meet Tuesday in Saudi Arabia again to discuss improving relations after the war in Ukraine had pushed ties to the worst level since the depths of the Cold War, sources said.
Putin appointed Kirill Dmitriev, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, as a special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation.
Dmitriev, 49, is an investment banker who studied at Harvard and Stanford in the 1990s and worked at U.S. firms Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before returning to Moscow in the early 2000s.
The appointment will give Dmitriev a more formal role in the Russian negotiating
With Russian forces having advanced last year at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, Trump said he wants to deliver a peace deal to end the war. He claimed the armed conflict, Europe’s bloodiest since World War Two, has killed “millions” though Western intelligence and other officials said previously about 1 million were killed and injured.
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