Withdraw from Donbas in exchange for a "peace agreement" and "written guarantees". NYT reports on Trump's plan

President of the United States Donald Trump after meeting with the dictator Vladimir Putin told his European partners that he supports the plan to end the war by handing over Ukrainian territories to the Russian occupiers, rather than trying to reach a truce. About this declares The New York Times, citing two anonymous European officials briefed on the conversation.

According to them, Trump will discuss this plan with the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 18 in the White House, and European leaders are invited to join them.

The NYT writes that after his meeting with Putin, Trump dropped his demand for an immediate ceasefire and believes that a peace treaty can be quickly negotiated if the Ukrainian leader agrees to give up Donbas to Russia, even those territories not occupied by Russian troops.

Zelenskyy and European leaders spoke strongly against such a concession regarding the unoccupied territory, which also contains important defense lines and is rich in mineral resources, the media reported. Ukrainian officials have said that the final agreement cannot include Kyiv's consent to cede any of its sovereign territory, which would violate the country's constitution.

In exchange for the "handover" of Donbas, Putin offered a ceasefire in the rest of Ukraine along the current front lines and a "written promise" not to attack the country or any other European state, the officials said. They pointed out to Trump that the Russian dictator has often violated his written commitments.

The officials emphasized that decisions regarding its territory should be made by Ukraine itself, adding that international borders cannot be changed by force.

According to officials, Trump did not mention the introduction of additional sanctions or economic pressure on Russia. At the same time, European leaders have emphasized that they will continue to take such measures against Moscow until the killings stop, one of the officials said.

White House officials did not respond to NYT's request for comment.

At the same time, European officials said: Trump said that Putin had allegedly agreed that Ukraine should have reliable security guarantees after the deal was concluded, but not within NATO. The US President told Europeans that US troops could take part in this process.

In addition, the Russian dictator asked for guarantees that the Russian language would again become official in Ukraine, and also wanted "security for Russian Orthodox churches (probably referring to Moscow Patriarchate - Ed.)," the officials said.

They noted that Trump expressed hope for a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy. At the same time, the dictator still refuses to meet with the Ukrainian president, considering him an allegedly illegitimate president of an "artificial country," the NYT concludes.

There is no official confirmation of this plan yet.

• On August 17, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany convene online meeting of the "coalition of the willing" to discuss steps to achieve peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
• On the summit between the US president and the dictator in Alaska, as well as further developments read in the chronicle by LIGA.net.