Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should reach an agreement to end the war with Russia because"Russia is a very big power, and they are not," after hosting a summit where Vladimir Putin was reported to have demanded more Ukrainian territory.
In a subsequent phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky, a source familiar with the discussion quoted Trump as saying the Russian leader offered to freeze most front lines if kyiv's forces surrendered all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow's top targets.
Zelensky rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk Oblast, which it first gained control of in 2014.
Trump also said he had agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies, so far supported by the United States, have demanded.
Zelensky said he would meet with Trump in Washington on Monday, while kyiv's European allies applauded Trump's efforts but pledged to support Ukraine and toughen sanctions against Russia. The source said European leaders were also invited to Monday's talks.
