Trump declares that the course of the Ukraine conflict is developing in one direction and the territories may eventually become Russian

US President Donald Trump, speaking about settlement proposals, said the Ukraine conflict is moving in one direction, suggesting that the disputed territories could eventually become Russian.

Trump added that the cessation of hostilities and the abandonment of any new regional demands towards Kyiv are concessions by Russia as part of the US peace plan.

“Ukraine must agree to the deal,” he stressed, warning that “the conflict could last for years, and Russia is outperforming Kyiv in terms of military size”.

The US president also clarified that he doesn’t have a deadline for the completion of any deal, stressing that he is waiting for a settlement on the situation in Ukraine in the near future.

He said he would send his special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as the White House master sought to hammer out a deal that would end the war in Ukraine.

“There are only a few points of contention left,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, but his optimism was met with European skepticism as Russian missile strikes on Kyiv continued.

Trump hoped to meet soon with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only when an agreement is reached to end this war or the final stages are reached by the discussions.

In a statement at the White House, Trump said: “It’s not easy, but I think we’re very close to reaching an agreement… We’ll see”.

The US peace plan in Ukraine was amended after it was deemed favorable to Russia, as the latest version included much better provisions for Kyiv.

The new version allows Ukraine in particular to maintain an army of 800,000 troops, compared to 600,000 in the initial version of the plan.

US officials on Tuesday expressed optimism about the negotiations, but acknowledged that sensitive issues remained.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Russia clearly lacks the desire for a ceasefire, calling for continued pressure on it.

Macron said Russia had shown no willingness to discuss the draft US plan to end the war, which was amended after talks between Americans, Ukrainians and Europeans in Geneva last weekend.

Since then, there have been heated discussions, with US and British media reporting that representatives of the United States and Russia have held talks in Abu Dhabi.

For their part, the leaders of the “Alliance of Willing States” that supports Ukraine, which includes 30 countries, held a video meeting on Tuesday.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Tuesday that talks with the Russians were good.

“On Monday evening and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and his team held discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine… The talks are going well, and we remain optimistic”.

The White House said tremendous progress had been made toward a peace deal but noted there were sensitive but not intractable details that warranted further talks.

“We look forward to arranging the visit of the Ukrainian president to the United States as soon as November to complete the remaining steps and reach an agreement with President Trump,” Ukraine Security Council President Rustam Umarov said on X.