Washington DC: In the latest development in the Russia-Ukraine war, the White House on Thursday (local time) stated that the United States President Donald Trump is ‘extremely frustrated’ with both countries over the slow pace of progress in the four-year-long running war that has claimed several lives from both sides. During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is unwilling to hold or engage in any ‘meetings just for the sake of meeting’.
Leavitt informed that the US President not willing to engage in meetings that achieve nothing and fetch almost zero results. She said her country acts as the primary mediator to end the ongoing war.
“The president is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war. He’s sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting. He doesn’t want any more talk. He wants action. He wants this war to come to an end,” Leavitt said.
She further confirmed that the Trump administration remains actively involved in peace efforts, with President Trump holding talks with European leaders on Wednesday and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team continuing direct discussions with both sides “literally as we speak”.
Regarding possible high-level US participation in upcoming talks this weekend, Leavitt said the decision remains “up in the air”.
“The United States and the Trump administration continue to be very much engaged in trying to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end. The President had a call with Europeans yesterday. His special envoy Witkoff and his team continue to talk with both sides literally as we speak. If there is a real chance of signing a peace agreement, if we feel like those meetings are worthy of someone in the United States’s time this weekend, then we will send a representative. It’s still up in the air whether we believe real peace can be accomplished and we can truly move the ball forward,” Leavitt stated.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the US is advocating for Ukraine to pull back its forces from the Donetsk region to create a “free economic zone” in Kyiv-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, which Moscow seeks to dominate, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine had submitted a 20-point set of counter-proposals to the US as part of ongoing discussions on security guarantees with senior American officials, emphasising that any territorial concessions would need to be approved through a national referendum.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has been facing increasing pressure from Washington to reach a peace deal with Russia, with reports suggesting that Trump wants an agreement by Christmas, Al Jazeera reported.
The overall peace plan includes a 20-point framework, along with separate documents addressing security guarantees and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The updated framework — which reportedly modifies an earlier US proposal viewed as leaning toward Russia — hasn’t been released publicly yet. Zelenskyy said that the major sticking points are still who will control the Donetsk region and how the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be governed, Al Jazeera reported.
Currently, the nuclear power is controlled by Russia.
(with ANI inputs)
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