U.S. President Donald Trump is stepping away from direct involvement in efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, administration officials confirmed. A planned trilateral meeting will now take place only after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet one-on-one.
Trump, in a recent radio interview, said he preferred to “see what happens” in that bilateral meeting before convening a joint session, signaling a cautious, wait-and-see approach.
Progress remains slow, with no confirmed date or venue for the Putin-Zelenskyy talks. After hosting discussions in Washington with Zelenskyy and several European leaders, Trump held a 40-minute phone call with Putin. Both sides agreed to appoint senior negotiators to pursue direct dialogue.
A major sticking point continues to be Ukraine’s demand for security guarantees. While Trump has floated offering U.S. intelligence support and limited air assistance, he has ruled out sending American troops. Moscow, meanwhile, has pressed for a role in providing security assurances—an idea met with skepticism in Washington.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed guarded optimism, but deep challenges persist. Russia has previously rejected direct talks with Zelenskyy, and disputes linger over how much the U.S. should be involved.
On Thursday, August 21, Trump stirred controversy with two Truth Social posts asserting that Ukraine “cannot win without invading Russia.”
Russia, for its part, has doubled down on its longstanding positions. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any peace proposal straying from the framework discussed in Istanbul in 2022 was “hopeless.” At those early negotiations, Moscow sought to bar Western nations from aiding Ukraine if another attack occurred.
Lavrov reiterated Russia’s red lines on Thursday, warning that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable.” He argued that Western security proposals essentially amounted to “foreign military intervention on Ukrainian territory,” which Moscow would firmly oppose.
Russia has instead pushed for China, one of its closest allies, to play a role in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. Zelenskyy dismissed the idea, noting Beijing’s alignment with Moscow.
“China did not help us stop this war from the beginning,” Zelenskyy said. “It assisted Russia by supplying drones. We do not need guarantors who stood aside when Ukraine needed them most.”
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