The 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency are approaching – the deadline in which, according to some media reports, he was going to successfully complete the process of transferring the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to the negotiating stage. On the eve of this date, the US president optimistically stated that the parameters of the peace agreement had been largely agreed upon and now it only remained to conclude it. At the same time, Trump administration officials have already shared his plans for the next 100 days of his presidency. There are also peace talks among them.
Recall that the deadline for concluding what Trump calls the deal between Russia and Ukraine was different. During his election campaign, he generally said that he would reconcile both countries in one day.
Then the date of April 20– the Christian Easter, appeared in the press. Finnish President Aleksandar Stubb confirmed that it was to her that Trump would not mind achieving a cease-fire. Now the press mentions April 29 – 100 days since the inauguration of the current president of the United States.
In an entry on the Truth Social network, Trump did confirm that he expects the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to end soon. Russia and Ukraine, he said, “are very close to concluding a deal, and now both sides must meet at a very high level to finalize it.” Trump wrote that most of the main points of the deal had been agreed, but did not disclose what they were. If we follow the words of the American president, we can only say that the deal will not provide for the return of Crimea to Ukrainian control. Trump bluntly stated this the other day in an interview with Time magazine. And on April 26, in the same Truth Social, berating The New York Times correspondent Peter Baker, who he disliked very much, he wrote that this “untalented author” in his article “followed the demands of his editor and wrote that Ukraine should regain territory, including, I believe, Crimea, and other ridiculous demands.”.
After meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Trump began to scold the journalist on the social network and talk about the almost concluded deal between Russia and Ukraine. They both attended the funeral of Pope Francis and spoke to each other before the ceremony. This is the first face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Trump since their memorable February 28 quarrel at the White House. Judging by what they both said after the meeting, they didn’t talk loudly this time. However, their conversation did not last long – only 15 minutes. Sky News reported, citing sources, that the conversation between the two presidents was supposed to continue after the ceremony. However, Trump left shortly after its completion. The Ukrainian media claimed that the presidents had already discussed the main thing.
Perhaps the communication between Zelensky and Trump came down only to the fact that the American leader passed on some information to his Ukrainian counterpart. It is no coincidence that the US president wrote in Truth Social that now Russia and Ukraine “must meet at a very high level” to finalize a peace deal.
This statement suggests a connection with the talks that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, conducted in Moscow on Friday. His conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin lasted three hours. After the meeting, Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the possibility of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev was also discussed.
In this regard, it should be recalled that on April 24, Trump responded to a question asked about the possible introduction of new American sanctions against Russia: “I would prefer to give an answer in a week. I want to see if we can make a deal. There is no reason to answer this question now.” Earlier, he intriguingly stated that he had set his own deadlines for US participation in negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but did not mention these deadlines. And the American media, in particular CNN, confidently reported – though invariably citing anonymous sources – that Trump expects a breakthrough in negotiations by the 100 days of his rule.
In short, the White House is talking about an imminent deal between Russia and Ukraine, if not as a settled matter, then as something quite achievable. Meanwhile, a number of Trump administration officials shared with Reuters the president’s plans for the next 100 days. Allegedly, he is going to focus on trade negotiations and peace agreements. As the agency’s interlocutor put it, Trump still has “a few torpedoes underwater” in reserve – that is, some unexpected moves. The White House official did not explain whether they relate to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
