By euronews
Published on
“Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the War between Russia and Ukraine,” US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media app.
Adding that the war “would have NEVER started if I were President,” Trump also underlined that 25.000 soldiers died due to the war in the past week.
“The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement,” Trump added, further stating that he has directed his special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and that US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with a Ukrainian delegation.
“I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” the realtor-turned-president also said, adding “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”
“Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”
From initial alarm to cautious optimism
Recently, top US and Ukrainian officials said they made progress towards ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following high-stakes talks in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The talks were aimed at discussing US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the embattled Ukraine, which sparked concern among many of Washington’s European allies, who viewed the plan as heavily conciliatory to Moscow.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the US delegation in Geneva, said the talks were “very worthwhile” and constituted the most productive days in a “very long time”.
“I feel very optimistic that we can get something done,” Rubio said.
“This is a very delicate moment,” he added.
“Some of it is semantics, or language. Others require higher-level decisions and consultations. Others, I think, just need more time to work through.”
The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the US to end the nearly four-year Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine had initially sparked alarm in Kyiv and European capitals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the US support it so desperately relies on. Zelenskyy also asserted that Ukrainians “will always defend” their home.