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Trump changes the game: Not a ceasefire, but a peace deal with Putin
Less than 24 hours ago, US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he "wouldn't be happy" if Vladimir Putin didn't agree to a ceasefire by Friday. But this morning his stance changed.
"It was widely agreed that the best way to end the terrible war between Russia and Ukraine is a direct Peace Agreement, which would stop the war, and not just a Ceasefire Agreement, which often does not last," the statement read.
This change in stance, which may seem like a small detail in the larger mosaic of efforts to end the largest land war in Europe in decades, is an existential issue for Ukraine.
It took Kiev and its European allies all of last week to convince Trump that an immediate ceasefire was essential, warning that Russia could use the time in the negotiations to intensify its offensive. Ukraine itself has signaled in recent weeks that Moscow is massing troops and preparing new operations for the fall.
Although Ukraine has the second-largest army in Europe, Russia – with the largest army on the continent – is able to deploy 110,000 troops on one sector of the eastern front alone, a force larger than the entire British army.
A peace agreement also means confronting intractable issues: Moscow seeks to occupy all of eastern Ukraine, while Kiev refuses to give up any inch of land to the invader.
"Importantly," former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Saturday, "the meeting [in Alaska] showed that negotiations are possible without preconditions, while the Special Military Operation continues." / CNN
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