Trump pushes three-step plan to de-escalate Ukraine war

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pressing for three urgent steps as part of efforts to de-escalate Russia’s war against Ukraine and restore diplomatic ties with Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Speaking in an interview with Axios, Zelenskyy said the proposed steps are:

a ceasefire covering attacks on energy infrastructure;

restoring the operation of the “grain corridor” in the Black Sea;

holding a trilateral meeting between the United States, Ukraine and Russia, potentially in Abu Dhabi.

Zelenskyy said the proposal for a mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure had come from the United States and that Ukraine was ready to accept it.

“The proposal is now on the agenda: an energy ceasefire. We are ready,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that the United States was also seeking to reopen the “grain corridor” and convene a trilateral meeting involving Washington, Kyiv and Moscow.

According to Zelenskyy, he told Trump that he would prefer to hold the trilateral meeting and make an energy ceasefire one of its first concrete outcomes.

The Ukrainian president said the United States had proposed initially holding talks between technical teams rather than a leaders’ summit, with Abu Dhabi suggested as a possible venue.

“We are open to proposals—any country, any format,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy and Trump held their talks at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after agreeing to meet during a phone conversation.

Following the meeting, Trump was asked whether he still believed Ukraine could regain all territories occupied by Russia. The US president did not directly answer the question, saying instead that he expected Kyiv and Moscow to reach an agreement.

By Vafa Guliyeva