Trump Issues Ultimatum to Russia and Ukraine: Whitcoff

US President Donald Trump has presented an ultimatum, demanding direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine; otherwise, the US will withdraw from the peace process. This was stated by special envoy Steve Whitcoff in an interview with breitbart.com.

He expressed hope that a peace summit will take place soon, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in person to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

“I think if the US steps back from the resolution of this conflict, in other words, does not wish to engage and says, ‘this is not my war, I tried my best,’ I think that would be a bad outcome for everyone. It’s bad for the Europeans, bad for the Ukrainians, and I don’t think it’s good for the Russians either. Our goal is to bring them into one room and show that there are alternatives to a peaceful resolution for everyone. Solutions work when there are direct talks,” the envoy said.

Whitcoff emphasized that without Putin's agreement, it is impossible to resolve the Ukrainian conflict peacefully. He added that the main topics of the negotiations to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict are five regions, of which two are under Russian control, and three are mixed, currently under discussion regarding the operation of the closed Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.

“The main issues concern the five regions. Russia controls two of those regions, has predominant control... The Zaporizhia nuclear plant is a major part of this discussion because it is the crown jewel and has been closed, but we need to reopen it as it supplies a significant amount of electricity to some cities in Kyiv. There’s also the question of how Ukraine will gain access to water and deliver its goods to market,” the envoy stated.