During a Sunday morning appearance on Fox News, President Donald Trump‘s national security adviser Mike Waltz laid out four key tenets to talks with President Vladimir Putin about ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Newsweek reached out to Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry and the Russian government via email for comment on Sunday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Trump is pushing for a deal with Putin to end the ongoing war, which began nearly three years ago when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbor.
On Wednesday, Trump had a phone call with Putin and afterward said, there was a “good possibility of ending that horrible, very bloody war.” Trump said he also talked separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via phone on Wednesday, but the fact that Zelensky was not on the call with Trump and Putin has sparked concerns that Ukraine and its European allies will not have an adequate say in how these peace negotiations play out.
Trump’s phone call with Putin signaled a shift in the U.S.-led effort to isolate Putin over its invasion of Ukraine and the Biden administration’s approach of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
What To Know
Fox News’ Shannon Bream asked Waltz on Fox News Sunday, “Given the cost that the Ukrainian people have paid, why would they not have a direct seat at the table, especially if Zelensky says whatever you come up with, he’s not going to feel bound by unless they’re actively, directly part of these talks?”
Waltz didn’t answer Bream’s question. Instead, he said the Ukrainians have “fought valiantly” in the war, which the U.S. and Europe have supported “but the United States unquestionably has borne the brunt of that support over the years. But now President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end.”
He then went on to share four key tenets that will drive the peace talks.
“Number one, it has to be a permanent end to the war, not a temporary end to the war. Number two, this can’t be ended on the battlefield. This has turned into a World War I-style meat grinder of human beings,” Waltz said. “Number three, I talked about how the structure of our aid has to change. Then number four, we’re talking about economic integration going forward as the best arbiter of peace.”
Earlier in the interview, Waltz mentioned how the Trump administration is talking to Zelensky about entering into an economic partnership with the U.S. to guarantee their security and recoup the American people for the billions of dollars in aid given to Ukraine during the Biden administration.
“I can’t think of any better security guarantee than being co-invested with President Trump,” Waltz said.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump told a reporter on Thursday, “Of course they would,” when asked whether Ukraine would have a place at the negotiating table. “I mean, they’re part of it. We would have Ukraine, we would have Russia, and we would have other people involved, too.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-controlled TV on Thursday, per Reuters, “One way or another, of course, Ukraine will participate in the negotiations,” adding, “There will be a bilateral Russian-American track of this dialogue, and a track that will be related to Ukraine’s involvement.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday morning, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never,” adding, “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.”
Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, that Russia “does not want to end the war and continues to escalate global tensions.”
Retired U.S. Army General Jack Keane told Fox News’ Paul Gigot on The Journal Editorial Report on Saturday that he believes Putin is “willing to at some point, if the deal is okay with him to accept a peace agreement and a ceasefire. But he’s not given up on his strategic goal to topple the government in Ukraine and take over the country.”
He added: “What I think will happen is it’s likely he will not take on his goal of toppling the government in Ukraine until after Trump is out of the presidency.”
What Happens Next?
There are reports the U.S. and Russia will be holding talks in Saudi Arabia next week.
When Bream asked Waltz on Sunday whether he could confirm that reporting, the national security adviser said, “President Trump initiated those talks personally, with President Putin, and we’ll carry those talks going forward in the coming weeks, and he is ready to move quickly to end this conflict, and we will bring everyone together as appropriate.”
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