Russian leader Vladimir Putin has proposed ending the war along the current front lines as part of negotiations with the Trump administration over a possible peace deal, according to one report, but European officials warn it may be a trap.
During an April 11 meeting in St. Petersburg, Putin told Trump’s envoy Witkoff, a former Florida real estate investor and Trump’s golf partner with no prior diplomatic experience, that Russia would be willing to drop its claims to Ukrainian-controlled areas in four partially occupied regions, according to three sources cited in the report.
According to the report in the Financial Times (FT), since then, the White House has allegedly floated a peace settlement proposal that would involve the Trump administration recognizing Crimea as Russian and accepting de facto Russian control over parts of four other Ukrainian regions.
This could signal that Putin is ready to lower his demands to end the war. However, European officials familiar with US peace efforts warn that it may be a trap – an attempt to push Trump into accepting Kremlin terms and imposing them on Ukraine.
One official told FT, “There is a lot of pressure on Kyiv right now to give up on things so Trump can claim victory.”
As previously reported by Kyiv Post sources in the Ukrainian President’s Office, Trump is seeking to secure a ceasefire by April 30, aiming to proudly declare he achieved peace within the first 100 days of his presidency.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his firm stance on Crimea, stating: “Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea. It is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people – there is nothing to discuss.”
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, told the FT: “Tense work is under way. We are talking to the Americans. The work is difficult and takes a lot of time, so it is difficult to expect immediate results, and the work cannot be done in public.”
Sources familiar with the talks say Putin might agree to give up his full territorial claims over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia if the US makes broader geopolitical concessions – such as recognizing Russian control over Crimea and blocking Ukraine’s path to NATO.
Meanwhile, on the evening of Tuesday, April 22, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to the Financial Times report that Putin had proposed freezing the war along the current front line in Ukraine.
Peskov stated: “There are a lot of fakes being published right now, including by respected outlets – so one should only listen to primary sources.”