The Trump administration is conducting talks with Ukraine and Russia about a peaceful end to the war and has begun discussing how assets between the two countries will be divided.
This comes ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war. Trump on Sunday told reporters that he plans to discuss “dividing up certain assets” with Putin.
“We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday,” Trump said. “I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday.”
The president further stated that, “A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
When asked how such an agreement would look, Trump explained that the leaders discussed land and power plants. “We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants,” and “dividing up certain assets.”
Part two of President Trump's gaggle with reporters on Air Force One tonight. Topics:
— Paul Villarreal (AKA Vince Manfeld) (@AureliusStoic1) March 17, 2025
Talk with Putin Tuesday
Divide Russia & Ukraine assets
Deportati0ns & Judge's orders
. pic.twitter.com/jQZfI048Uo
Trump on Thursday announced that he had spoken with Putin and expressed optimism that they could hammer out an agreement that would bring an end to the war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. In a post on Truth Social, the president said he had “very good and productive discussions” with the Russian president and that “there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.”
He further called on Russia not to intensify its attacks after having surrounded Ukrainian forces and put them “IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION.”
Putin, for his part, has held his cards close to his chest. When Trump proposed a 30-day ceasefire, an idea with which Ukraine agreed, the Kremlin did not give a definitive position, just stating that they are looking to achieve a long-lasting peace. However, Moscow later indicated it would be open to the proposition.
JUST IN: 🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russian President Putin says Donald Trump is a smart and experienced person who will come up with a solution to end the war in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/8C7dMObwMH
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) November 28, 2024
Moscow has indicated that any peace agreement would require a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reportedly said that the Kremlin wants an "ironclad" guarantee that Ukraine will be prohibited from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as the Trump administration works to broker a deal to end the fighting.
"We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement," Grushko was quoted by the Russian newspaper Izvestia as saying, according to Reuters. "Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance."
Grushko reportedly made no mention of the 30-day cease-fire proposal, which was accepted by Ukraine with U.S. negotiators in Saudi Arabia last week. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that any agreement must first meet crucial conditions.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian drone strikes have continued, with Ukraine accusing Russia of trying to invade the Sumy region of the northern area of the country.