An hour’s phone call between Washington and Kiev: Trump changes course after meeting Putin, nothing ceased for immediate fire. Moscow relaunches its conditions on the territories, Europe pushes for security guarantees on the born model.
An hour of interview, defined by sources close to leaders “not simple”. Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky from the Air Force One, On the route returning from Alaska after the face to face with Vladimir Putin. The goal: to update the Ukrainian president on the outcomes of the summit. The result, however, was far from reassuring.
The most delicate point concerns the ceasefire. Trump, who until the day before was said ready to impose an immediate truce, married the Kremlin line: no suspension of hostilities without a wider political understanding. And in an interview with Fox News he stressed: “Russia is a great power, Ukraine does not.”
“Putin can take all the Donbass”
Axios reports that Trump would bring Putin’s words back to Zelensky: Moscow, if he wanted, would be able to conquer the entire Donbass. Kiev has boiled the statement as a lie, but the message accepted tensions.
On the ground, the friction war continues to wear both fronts. Russia, while boasting advancements, remains trapped in a conflict that has been consuming lives and resources in enormous proportions for three years.
Moscow conditions
According to rumors collected by Financial Times and from ReutersPutin would have asked for the recognition of the entire Donetsk and Luhansk, even in the areas not yet occupied. In return, the Kremlin would freeze the war on the current lines in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzia, promising not to further expand the operations.
But Russian requests go beyond the conflict map. Moscow insists on the veto at the entrance of Ukraine into NATO, on the demilitarization of the country, on the recognition of Russian as an official language and on the protection of Orthodox churches linked to the Patriarchate of Moscow. Conditions that Zelensky has rejected.
Security guarantees on the NATO model
In the final part of the phone call, which also participated in European and leader NATO and EU leaders, there was discussed possible security guarantees for Kiev. The hypothesis on the table provides for a mechanism similar to article 5 of the Atlantic alliance – which establishes the collective defense – without however a direct commitment of NATO.
According to the CNN, A European official has confirmed that Washington would now be more available to discuss a multilateral protection system. A turning point, if we consider the caution shown so far by Trump.
Opening to Western troops
Further development, revealed by Wall Street Journal, It concerns Putin’s availability to tolerate a western military presence in Ukraine in the form of “reassurance force” led by the Europeans. Trump would have accepted the idea, while excluding the sending of American soldiers.
The Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, in an official note, claimed the role of Rome: “Trump has resumed the Italian proposal for security guarantees inspired by article 5. Only a robust system will be able to avoid new Russian aggressions”.
Next stop: the White House
Trump and Zelensky will meet on Monday in Washington. For the Ukrainian leader it will be the opportunity to ask for an account of the sudden change of American line. Meanwhile, on the table, a negotiation remains that appears increasingly complex: among the territorial ambitions of Moscow, the American hesitation and the European request for concrete guarantees.
