White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on March 17 that the Trump administration believes they have "never been closer" to closing a ceasefire deal in Ukraine, ahead of a call scheduled between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for March 18.
"I won't get ahead of those negotiations (between Trump and Putin) but I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace," Leavitt said at a press briefing, using an American football analogy to suggest a resolution is within reach. "We’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment and the president is determined to get one done."
Trump said on March 17 that he plans to have a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
The planned call follows U.S.-led negotiations in Saudi Arabia, where Washington proposed a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv accepted the deal during talks in Jeddah on March 11, prompting the U.S. to resume military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
On March 13, Putin said Russia was also willing to accept the ceasefire but demanded guarantees that Ukraine would not mobilize troops, conduct training, or receive military assistance during the truce, making it potentially vulnerable to renewed Russian aggression.
"I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, Ukraine and Russia. We're already talking about that, dividing up certain assets," Trump said on Air Force One.
When asked by reporters whether dividing up territory and power plants between Ukraine and Russia has been part of the discussions between Kyiv and Washington, Leavitt confirmed "that has been part of the discussion," but would not preemptively say whether Trump will discuss the issue with Putin on March 18.
The White House has insisted that both Russia and Ukraine will have to make compromises in order to end the war, calling Ukraine's goal of restoring its pre-2014 borders "unrealistic."
The U.K. news outlet the Independent reported on March 16, citing senior Ukrainian officials, that Ukraine is ready to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, but remains firm on several areas, including the return of children and civilians, no further ceding of territory, as well as establishing international security guarantees.
Abbey Fenbert
(Updated: )
