Recent leaks regarding US President Donald Trump's position on a new Russian proposal have added further complexity to the diplomatic landscape surrounding the war in Ukraine, just hours after the Alaska summit between him and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ended without a public agreement or clear breakthrough.
Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday, citing an informed source, that Putin, during the meeting, presented a proposal based on full Russian control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are part of the Donbas Basin in eastern Ukraine, in exchange for freezing the front lines in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where Russian forces still only partially control.
The source added that Trump"is inclined to support" this demand, at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to cede any part of his country's territory.
According to the same source, US officials who attended the consultations reported that Putin told Trump that he"might agree to a freeze in the fighting in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia if he achieved what he considered to be substantial gains in the Donbass," and that the US president, in turn, conveyed this view in subsequent communications with Zelensky and a number of European leaders. However, the source stressed that such a freeze would remain"contingent on a promise of honor from Putin," which raises serious doubts among the Europeans, who have repeatedly accused Moscow of failing to honor its previous commitments.
This data is consistent with what was published by the New York Times and the Financial Times, which indicated that Trump specifically views Putin's plan as a means of"ending the war by ceding territory to the invaders, rather than achieving a comprehensive ceasefire," a formula that Europeans view as a direct threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity and the rules of international law.
Zelenskyy, who spoke by phone with Trump on Saturday, reiterated his refusal to abandon Donbas, citing the Ukrainian constitution, which prohibits the ceding of any sovereign territory. However, in a move that reflects political pragmatism under pressure, he did not rule out discussing the issue in a potential trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin. This presents Kyiv with a difficult balance between preserving its sovereignty and seeking a way to end a war that has severely exhausted it.
This development comes amid the three-hour Alaska summit held inside a US military base. The summit was described as friendly in form, with Trump and Putin exchanging handshakes and pleasantries, but its content was ambiguous, with no official outcomes announced. Alberto Alemanno, a professor of European law in Paris, described the summit as"good news for the Europeans," as it prevented the imposition of a "new security map in Europe" behind Kyiv's back.
However, the same ambiguity opens the door to escalating concerns. French President Emmanuel Macron warned of"Moscow's tendency to fail to fulfill its commitments," while European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas stated that "Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon."
In this context, analysts believe that Putin is deliberately seeking to keep the Americans at the center of negotiations and marginalize the Europeans, who have imposed 18 packages of sanctions on him since 2022.
Despite their exclusion from the summit, European capitals attempted to influence the course of events through a series of phone calls and meetings, and proposed a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Zelensky, and Putin. However, Moscow showed no response.
In parallel, the European Union stressed in a joint statement that"decisions regarding Ukrainian territory rest solely with Kyiv," affirming continued pressure on Russia and drawing red lines, most notably a refusal to grant Moscow veto power over Ukraine's path toward the European Union and NATO.
The situation is becoming increasingly sensitive in light of Trump's repeated statements that he may cease to play the mediator role, despite his previous promises to resolve the conflict"within 24 hours." Experts point out that the Europeans, despite strengthening their defense capabilities, lack the means to support Ukraine on their own if the United States withdraws from mediation efforts or reduces its support.
In an attempt to demonstrate European unity, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called an emergency meeting on Sunday with the"coalition of the willing" of countries supporting Kyiv, just hours before Zelenskyy's visit to Washington to meet with Trump.
According to European sources, a number of European leaders may be invited to the meeting, which will constitute a new test of the continent's potential for reintegration into the negotiating process, which Moscow and Washington are attempting to limit to a bilateral framework.
