On the 19th, US President Donald Trump said he hopes Russian President Putin will take a “good response” and move forward towards the end of the Ukrainian war, but acknowledged that it may be that Putin does not want a deal. Photographed on the 15th in Alaska, USA (Reuters, 2025)
WASHINGTON/LONDON/Kiuu/ANKARA (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Russian President Putin “may not want to make a deal” to end the conflict in Ukraine, and that he will evaluate Putin’s actions over the next two weeks.
Although they did not go into specific details about the US involvement in “security guarantees” to Ukraine, which was clearly stated at the summit with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House on the 18th, they once again denied the possibility of the US military’s ground troops being dispatched.
Trump has expressed his intention to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, and then hold a tripartite meeting, including himself, following the meeting between the two leaders, but Russia has not shown a clear commitment to the Russia-Ukraine summit so far.
On the 19th, Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia will not refuse any form of discussion on Ukraine peace, but that the summit must be prepared with the utmost care.
However, Russia and Ukraine mutually returned the bodies of soldiers killed in battle. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia returned the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers who died in battle to Ukraine on the day. According to Tas News, Russia received the bodies of 19 Russian soldiers in return.
The United Nations, which supports Ukraine, held talks on the day, discussing additional sanctions to intensify pressure on Russia. It also agreed to send the team to the US in the next few days to hold a meeting in order to proceed with plans to ensure security in Ukraine.
In a post to X, President Zelensky said, “We are actively working on concrete work at all levels on the structure of safety assurance, with all members of the United Nations Union, particularly the United States.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military leadership is also expected to meet on the 20th to discuss the issue of Ukraine. Prior to this, NATO Secretary-General Rutte held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Erdogan on the day to discuss ensuring viable and sustainable security for Ukraine. In addition, US Secretary of State Rubio held a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan to discuss measures to end the Russian-Ukraine war.
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