President Donald Trump has revealed that negotiators working to end the Russia-Ukraine war have already discussed “dividing up certain assets,” as he announced plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, March 18.
Trump’s comments follow his announcement last week that Ukraine had accepted a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire, leaving the decision to Russia on whether to accept the proposal and move toward ending the war.
“We’re doing pretty well, I think, with Russia. We’ll see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One during his return to the White House after a weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
“A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” he added. “Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
Trump elaborated on the discussions, saying, “We’ll be talking about land. A lot of land is a lot different than it was before the war, as you know. We’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants—that’s a big question. But 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.”
Putin’s response to the Trump-backed ceasefire proposal has been cautious. While Moscow has agreed with the proposal in theory, the Kremlin has outlined tough conditions, including demands for concessions from Kyiv. Putin has reiterated his claim that the current Ukrainian government is part of the “root cause” of the war.
The conflict, which began with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022, has resulted in Ukraine losing control of approximately 11% of its territory, according to CNN analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.
Land concessions remain one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations. U.S. officials have suggested that Ukraine may need to cede territory to end the war, a condition Putin has made central to any ceasefire agreement. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently rejected the idea of conceding territory, and some European leaders have expressed concerns about rewarding Putin’s aggression.
Trump’s willingness to consider concessions to Moscow, even before formal talks have begun, has raised alarms among NATO allies in Europe. Many are questioning the reliability of U.S. security guarantees under Trump’s leadership.
Meanwhile, Putin has signaled a desire to restore relations with the U.S., stating on Friday that ties between the two nations had been “practically reduced to zero, destroyed by the previous American administration.” He added, “Overall, the situation is starting to move. Let’s see what comes out of this.”
As the negotiations unfold, the stakes remain high, with the potential to reshape the geopolitical landscape in Eastern Europe and beyond. Whether these talks will lead to a lasting resolution or further complicate the conflict remains uncertain.
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