Trump Weighs Options As Peace Deadline Passes For Russia And Ukraine

Last month, President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to address the war in Ukraine. While they did not reach a ceasefire agreement, Trump told reporters that the United States, Russia, and Ukraine had a “very good chance of” achieving peace. The U.S. president added that he had made “great progress” with the Russian leader.

Following the meeting in Alaska, Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders to the White House to discuss the war in Ukraine. In their meeting, European leaders argued that security guarantees should be provided to Ukraine to prevent a future war. In addition, they stated that a ceasefire needed to be reached before Zelenskyy could meet with Putin to discuss the conditions for ending the war.

After hearing from the European leaders, Trump announced that Putin had “a couple of weeks” to meet face-to-face with Zelenskyy. He also said that Russia and Ukraine needed to reach a ceasefire. Otherwise, if Putin and Zelenskyy did not reach an agreement, Trump said there would be “very big consequences.”

Two weeks later, Putin and Zelenskyy have yet to meet. This prompted the leader of Ukraine to respond to Trump’s two-week deadline.

“Everyone in the world has declared that there must be a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said in his presidential address on August 31. “Everyone has insisted that the war must end. That has been the position of everyone, including China. Almost everyone else in the world also supports ending the war. The only one who wants this war is Russia.”

“We expect that no one will tolerate the dragging out of this war,” the Ukrainian president added. “We count on a strong stance from the United States, Europe, and the G20 countries.”

In response to Zelenskyy’s address, Putin said that he hoped that there would still be a way to achieve peace in Ukraine. But as he discussed the ongoing war, the Russian president proceeded to state that war in Ukraine was not “triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but [that it]

was a result of a coup in Ukraine, [something] which was supported and provoked by the West.” The Russian president added that the war was due to “the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO.”

Given these different opinions on how to proceed, Putin and Zelenskyy have failed to meet. As a result, the war in Ukraine continues.

For nearly seven months, U.S. senior government officials have met with their Russian counterparts to discuss an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Americans have attempted to broker a ceasefire, and they have called for peace. These attempts, however, have been unsuccessful. Instead, Russia has continued to launch missile and drone strikes in Ukraine while the Ukrainians have conducted attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Given the passage of time, Trump is now considering his options for ending the war. For example, the U.S. president has previously threatened sanctions on Russia’s energy sector as an attempt to pressure Putin. In addition, the U.S. Senate has proposed a bill to punish Russia’s energy market, where, if passed, it would weaken Russia’s economy and ability to continue the war in Ukraine. Since Trump’s deadline for Putin to end the war has passed, it is possible that Trump may now pursue this option.

A second option for Trump could be strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities, which would put military pressure on Russia. In an official statement issued by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the United States had approved a new $825 million military sale to Ukraine. The aid would include extended range attack munition missiles, embedded global positioning systems, inertial navigation systems, and other weapons and equipment.

Additionally, Trump has permitted Ukraine to use Western weapons to conduct strikes deep within Russian territory. PBS reported that these capabilities would allow Ukraine to target Russian ammunition depots, weapons factories, and Russia’s energy sector. If these Russian facilities are damaged, then this would weaken Russia’s ability to continue its war in Ukraine.

In other words, Trump has options on how he would like to respond to the missed peace deadline. While it remains to be seen what the U.S. will do, Trump is still confident that a peace deal can be reached between Russia and Ukraine. He has also previously stated that a ceasefire will help save lives in Russia and Ukraine.

Now, as the U.S. enters its seventh month of negotiations with Russia, Trump will hope to finally bring Putin and Zelenskyy to the negotiating table. International observers of the war in Ukraine will continue to watch with angst and interest to see if and how the potential discussions between Putin and Zelenskyy will unfold.

A trilateral meeting between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine will “definitely happen,” Trump told The Daily Caller. “A bi[lateral between Russia and Ukraine], I don’t know about, but a tri[lateral meeting] will happen.”