Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted on full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a precondition for ending the three-year war, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the closed-door Alaska summit with former US President Donald Trump.
According to the report, Putin signalled he would not compromise on what he described as his “core demands” to address the root causes of the conflict. In return, he offered to freeze fighting in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, areas where Russian forces hold significant ground, and pledged not to launch further offensives to capture more territory.
Trump Relays Message to Zelensky
Trump later conveyed Putin’s position to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is scheduled to visit Washington on Monday. Zelensky, however, flatly rejected the proposal, Reuters reported, citing a diplomatic source.
Another source said Washington floated the idea of a “non-NATO Article 5” security guarantee for Ukraine, a pledge of collective defence without granting formal NATO membership. The proposal was reportedly discussed and tentatively agreed with Putin during the summit.
Divergent Paths on Peace
While Trump has been calling for a peace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire, Zelensky pushed back, demanding stronger sanctions on Moscow if no trilateral summit takes place.
“In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war,” Zelenskyy said. “Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the US. All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine’s participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine.”
Allies Move to Coordinate
As part of ongoing diplomatic efforts, Britain, France, and Germany will convene a video call with Ukraine’s allies on Sunday to align strategies ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington. The three European powers also reiterated support for a proposed summit involving Zelenskyy, Putin, and Trump, after the Alaska talks failed to produce a ceasefire.
The developments underscore the fragile state of negotiations, with Kyiv and Moscow still far apart on territorial issues, even as international pressure builds for a framework to end the war.
