Camilla Jessen
Trump claims Putin won’t seize all of Ukraine out of “respect,” as U.S.-Russia peace talks hit a deadlock.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would refrain from fully occupying Ukraine out of personal respect for him, despite reportedly still desiring to take control of the entire country.
He respects me. And I believe that because of me, he won’t take over all of Ukraine,” Trump said in an interview with ABC. “But his solution, his choice, would be to take over all of Ukraine.
Trump also stated that Putin wants to end the war but suggested the Russian leader could be “a little bit of a pain” in reaching a peace agreement.
The comments come amid stalled negotiations between Washington and Moscow over a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to sources familiar with the matter, cited by Bloomberg, Putin has not accepted a U.S. proposal to freeze fighting along the current front line and remains firm in his demand for Ukraine to cede full control of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions—none of which are fully under Russian control.
Deadlock in Peace Talks
Bloomberg sources indicated that the talks have reached a stalemate.
Under a proposed settlement reportedly backed by the Trump administration, the U.S. would recognize Crimea—annexed by Russia in 2014—as Russian territory, ease certain sanctions, and abandon efforts to bring Ukraine into NATO.
In return, Moscow would retain de facto control over the 20% of Ukrainian territory occupied since the 2022 invasion.
However, European officials familiar with the negotiations say there is no clear signal that Putin will agree to such terms. The next two weeks are expected to be critical in determining whether diplomatic efforts will continue, intensify, or be abandoned entirely.
U.S. Signals Impatience With Stalled Talks
On April 29, the U.S. State Department called on both Russia and Ukraine to present formal proposals on how to end the war.
“If there is no progress, then we, the mediators, will withdraw from this process,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
She did not specify a timeline for when Washington might exit the negotiations.