Trump pushes for peace – but Putin’s true intentions remain unclear

A new direction – or just another dead end?

Donald Trump has revived his promise to broker peace in Ukraine, this time by pushing for direct negotiations between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. After meetings in both Alaska and the White House, Trump expressed cautious optimism—but also acknowledged that Putin may not have any real interest in ending the war.

“We’re going to find out in the next few weeks,” Trump said. “It’s possible that he [Putin] doesn’t want to make a deal.”

On the surface, diplomatic ice appears to be thawing. Putin declared to Trump that he was “open” to talks with Ukraine. But barely a day later, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov put on the brakes: any meeting should be “prepared gradually,” and all the usual steps must be followed—a classic formulation that has often signaled stagnation rather than progress.

Europe says yes—even as doubts linger

While Trump still appears hopeful, Europe’s leaders are much more skeptical. French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin “a predator and a monster at our doorstep,” while Finland’s President Alexander Stubb declared that “Putin is rarely trustworthy.”

Yet Zelensky has been clear: he is ready for “any format” of meeting with Putin. Still, that openness is laced with realism—proposals such as a summit in Moscow have never been realistic for Ukraine. Instead, they are viewed as a cynical gesture from the Kremlin, designed to be rejected.

Security first—not peace at any price

Despite the lack of a breakthrough, the meetings in Washington were not without effect. Ukraine and the European leaders have convinced Trump that concrete security guarantees are vital if any peace agreement is to last.

Trump himself has floated the idea of U.S. air support—but rules out deploying American troops on the ground. At the same time, a “coalition of the willing” led by the UK and France has begun concrete plans for a so-called reassurance force, which could deploy to Ukraine if the fighting stops.

The trial by fire still awaits

Trump appears to have gained a little more respect for the complexities of the conflict. But his desire to conjure up a deal—perhaps even without being directly involved—clashes with hardened realities on the ground.

Putin still has the upper hand on the battlefield. His demands for a ceasefire include regime change in Kyiv, and his public statements continue to push the absurd narrative that Ukraine is governed by a “neo-Nazi government.”

Zelensky remains in his trial by fire as a wartime president—but one thing is certain: he will not travel to Moscow. And until Putin truly changes course, peace remains a distant goal.

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