“Total mistake”Trump Spokesperson: Not biased in favor of Russia
The White House defended itself against accusations from within its own party that it was adopting Moscow’s position. The weekend’s discussions were productive, a Trump spokesman said. There are only a few points on which there is still no agreement.
The White House rejected accusations that President Donald Trump was biased in favor of Russia in the current Ukraine negotiations. “The idea that the United States is not giving equal attention to both sides in this war to end it is completely wrong,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has previously been accused by members of his own Republican Party of supporting Russia’s position in its efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Washington presented a 28-point plan last week demanding painful concessions from Ukraine.
In the plan, Kiev calls for, among other things, handing over large areas of eastern Ukraine to Moscow, some of which have not yet been conquered by Russia, limiting troop numbers, and refusing to join NATO. Thus, the plan succeeded in meeting Moscow’s main demands.
Trump is frustrated with the progress of the war
Ukraine and its European allies are unwilling to accept the US plan. The changes were negotiated at talks in Geneva on Sunday, after which Kiev and European countries talked about progress, but they demanded further changes.
According to his spokesman, Trump remains hopeful that peace talks in Ukraine will produce results. There were very productive discussions over the weekend between the president’s national security team and the Ukrainian delegation, Leavitt said. Now there are only a few points where there is still no agreement, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after his negotiating team returned from Geneva that Trump’s 28-point plan had been scaled back. “There is still work to be done for all of us – it is very challenging – to create a final document. And we must do everything with dignity,” he said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. He did not provide any details. Zelensky said he wanted to talk to Trump about the plan.
Leavitt also stressed that the president was frustrated that the war was continuing. President Trump ended American war funding, but the United States still supplies or sells weapons in large quantities. “We can’t go on like this forever, and the president wants this war to end,” Leavitt said.
