Trump comments on Ukraine territorial losses amid peace talks

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine has lost territory, responding to reporters’ questions about the territorial aspects of a potential peace settlement.

“They’ve already lost territory, to be honest,” the president said during remarks broadcast on the White House’s YouTube channel, Caliber.Az reports.

Trump emphasised that even if territory had been lost, efforts were underway with Europe to establish security guarantees, adding that Europe would play a major role in ensuring the war does not restart.

“Things like that are going to happen. Nothing pretty about war. But I think we have made a lot of progress in terms of Russia and Ukraine,” the American leader noted.

Trump also addressed Moscow’s stance on the conflict, saying Russia is currently interested in bringing the war to an end.

The US president stated that, in his view, Russia wants to achieve a resolution to the conflict at this stage, adding that recent developments indicate progress toward that goal.

On December 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US special envoys in Berlin to advance negotiations on a peace plan aimed at ending Russia’s war, with discussions lasting over five hours and resuming on December 15.

Significant progress was reported, and talks focused on a 20-point peace framework and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Negotiations in Berlin also involved European leaders, and Zelenskyy signalled that Ukraine seeks NATO-style security guarantees as part of any ceasefire deal, while US envoys stressed that progress had been made toward a potential agreement.

By Jeyhun Aghazada