Russian-American contacts in the context of the escalating conflict in Ukraine are a major topic in the Western press, BTA writes.
US President Donald Trump intends to talk on the phone with his counterpart Vladimir Putin tomorrow about the conflict in Ukraine, the British newspaper “Financial Times“ notes in the headline.
“I will talk to Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work was done over the weekend”, Trump told reporters aboard the presidential plane during a late flight from Florida to Washington and added: “I think we are doing pretty well with Russia. We'll see if we have anything to announce by Tuesday.“
"We want to see if we can end the war. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance", the American president said.
When asked what concessions he would ask Putin for, Trump replied: “I think we'll talk about land and power plants“.
"I think a lot of this has already been discussed extensively by both sides - Ukraine and Russia. "We're already talking about it, to divide up some assets," Trump added, also quoted by the "Financial Times".
The US president's comments come after the US and its G7 partners warned Moscow on Friday that they could expand sanctions and use frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine in an attempt to persuade Putin to accept Trump's ceasefire proposal, the British publication said.
The joint statement followed a week in which Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow refused to commit to the same. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told CNN that there was progress in the ceasefire talks, after the two sides had previously been "very far apart."
Asked when he thought a deal would be reached, Witkoff quoted Trump as saying earlier that it would take weeks. "I agree with him," the special envoy told CNN.
Trump announced that he would discuss with Putin issues ranging from territories to power plants, another British newspaper, the Guardian, headlined.
The Russian president has previously said that he supports a ceasefire, but noted that many details need to be agreed before the deal can be completed.
Among other things, Moscow is categorically opposed to the deployment of European peacekeeping forces to provide guarantees for the security of Ukraine after a possible ceasefire, the Guardian notes.
French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that Russia's permission was not necessary, noting that Ukraine is a sovereign state. "If Ukraine asks for allied forces to be on its territory, Russia does not have to accept or reject them," he said in comments quoted by several French newspapers.
Later yesterday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that any lasting peace treaty for Ukraine must meet Moscow's demands.
"We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement," the Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted him as saying. Grushko's words.
„Part of these guarantees should be Ukraine's neutral status and the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance“, the Russian diplomat added.
The diplomatic activity between the US and Russia comes at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to replace the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, notes „The Guardian“.
A statement by the Ukrainian president says that the current chief of the General Staff, Anatoly Barkhylevich, has been replaced by Andriy Gnatov, who „is tasked with increasing the effectiveness of army management“.
„He is a fighter“, Zelensky said of Gnatov and added: „His task is to bring more combat experience - the experience of our brigades in planning operations, both defensive and offensive, as well as and the more active development of the army corps system“.
Ukrainian forces, whose numbers have increased many times over since the military mobilization to repel the Russian invasion in February 2022, are starting to organize themselves into army corps. The creation of these large units, which should consist of several divisions (each of which is theoretically about 15,000 soldiers - note. “Monde“), is aimed at improving the coordination of Ukrainian forces, which military experts often consider chaotic, the French newspaper “Monde“ points out.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote on "Facebook" yesterday that he had proposed the appointment of General Gnatov and that he had more than 27 years of experience in the army. "We are systematically transforming the Ukrainian Armed Forces to increase their combat effectiveness," Umerov added.
General Gnatov's predecessor, Anatoly Barkhylevich, has been appointed Inspector General of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. "He remains a member of the team," Umerov said, adding that his task will be to enforce stricter standards and discipline.