Trump says ‘contract’ being drafted on ‘dividing up’ land in Ukraine war
President Trump said “contracts” are being negotiated to divide up land as part of a final deal ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and reiterated that a ceasefire could come “pretty soon.”
“They are fighting against each other,” Trump told reporters Friday in the White House. “I think we're going to have ceasefire on a lot of areas and so far, that’s all held very well.”
“In getting that ceasefire, they had a lot of guns pointing at each other. You had some soldiers unfortunately surrounded by other soldiers,” the president said. “They are going to be — I believe we're going to pretty soon have a full ceasefire, and then we’re going to have a contract, and the contract's being negotiated, the contract in terms of dividing up the lands, etc., etc. It's being negotiated as we speak.”
Russia controls nearly 20 percent of Ukraine’s land.
The Trump administration has pushed to secure a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that would involve energy facilities and infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his support for the limited ceasefire involving energy facilities but rejected the U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire that Kyiv endorsed earlier this month.
During his Tuesday call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump proposed the U.S. take ownership of some of Ukraine’s power plants as a way of providing protection in the future.
“American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a joint statement after Trump’s one-hour call with Zelensky.
“He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the pair stated.
Zelensky did not mention Trump’s proposal regarding power plants after the phone call with the commander in chief, but he said Ukraine would continue its cooperation with Washington and reaffirmed his support for the partial ceasefire.
“We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and lasting peace,” Zelensky stated. “We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year.”
Trump’s desire to control some of Ukraine’s power plants is reportedly related to his backing of the Ukraine-U.S. minerals deal, an agreement that was not signed following the explosive back-and-forth between the president and Zelensky late last month.
“When there is peace, the president wants Ukraine and the US to have a partnership that ensures both nations an opportunity to grow their economies and bring stability to Europe’s backyard. American innovation and technology can help make that happen,” National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a Friday statement to The Hill.
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