Trump says US ‘negotiated’ with Russia to end Ukraine war
President Donald Trump discusses the continuing Russia-Ukraine war, efforts to reach a settlement and Moscow’s decision to remain outside the U.S.-Iran conflict. He also outlines recent developments in American foreign policy and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Donald Trump’s effort to reach an agreement with Russia that would end the war in Ukraine and potentially redefine European security has unsettled NATO allies. A former senior alliance commander warned News Media that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long pursued a strategy aimed at dividing the world into competing spheres of influence.
The warning came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected what he described as the possibility of a “Yalta 2.0.” At the same time, NATO governments weighed whether to engage Putin directly while delegations prepared for negotiations in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11.
Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said Putin’s ambitions reach well beyond Ukraine and reflect a wider vision for dividing global influence among major powers.
“Putin has a plan for the world, and he has pushed that plan on leaders several times,” Breedlove said, adding, “He talks about it and he writes about it.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, front row from left, stand with Jonas Gahr Støre, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ursula von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, back row from left, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Markus Schreiber, Pool/AP)
Trump said Thursday that a potential agreement with Moscow could cover far more than an end to Russia’s nearly five-year war in Ukraine.
“It’s going to be a big agreement, and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine… I could even say it might involve all of Europe,” Trump told reporters after meeting Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House.
“It’s going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone’s going to be thrilled,” Trump said.
Breedlove said Putin has repeatedly advanced a vision in which global power is divided among Russia, China and the United States.
“The plan is three spheres of influence whereby China controls the Far East, Russia controls Europe, and America controls the Western Hemisphere. I do not expect there’s going to be a lot of cooperation from the countries of Europe,” he said.
“The Western world is waiting to see what this big plan is, and they are very concerned because it is about them,” Breedlove added.
President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Zelenskyy also cautioned Friday against repeating the 1945 Yalta Conference, when Allied leaders negotiated Europe’s postwar order before the Soviet Union established control over Eastern Europe.
“We don’t want to have Yalta 2.0,” the Ukrainian leader told CNN. “We don’t want to be divided by Russia,” he said, adding, “For me, it’s not simple and it can be dangerous.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that discussions about Europe’s future after the Ukraine war were already taking place.
“It’s one of the key topics that’s been raised repeatedly in every conversation, anytime negotiations have been discussed,” Rubio told reporters before traveling to Paris for the G7 meeting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with reporters at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, April 4. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AP)
“So I think that’s what the president is alluding to, is that there’s been some advances made and what that architecture could look like post-conflict. We obviously have to get past the conflict to get to that point,” he said, offering clarification on Trump’s remarks.
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Breedlove questioned whether European governments and Ukraine would accept a larger agreement negotiated without their participation.
“I do expect that when we get a peek under the hood of what Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump have devised that there may be European partners and allies to include Ukraine that may or may not be enthralled with the proposed solution.”
“We have always said nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” the expert said.
“Neither have we heard anything about the EU or NATO being in this conversation. And yet the EU, NATO and Ukraine are central and the heart of the matter that apparently is going to be discussed.”
Concerns intensified after Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a rare 90-minute phone conversation with Putin on Oct. 27, according to reports.
A composite image shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) as peace negotiations continue. (Valery Sharifulin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images; Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized the separate European diplomatic efforts.
“I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo,” she said, while Breedlove defended the outreach.
“The two calls that recently took place between Northern leaders in the NATO alliance and Russia, I don’t think that they’re out of place at all,” he said. “I think they’re entirely appropriate.”
“The great powers of Europe are getting very concerned that someone is dealing with their security without including them in the conversation,” Breedlove added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed Sunday that France would join the negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
“The Europeans will be well represented; France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” Barrot said, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Breedlove warned that any agreement requiring European countries to give up elements of their security to satisfy Moscow would encounter strong opposition.
“If the maximalist demands of Russia remain intact and in order to find peace, all the rest of Europe has to give up its security, sacrifice its security, make itself more susceptible to Russian attack, then this is not going to go well,” he said.
“Putin has never been a partner for peace in Ukraine. Putin is not now a partner for peace in Ukraine.”
“The EU nations, the NATO nations, and Ukraine are not going to sign up to a plan that suggests that Russia will be able to once again amass its armies, march across borders and intervene in its neighbors’ internal business.”
“We need to understand that we are in a war. Mr. Putin is at war with the West,” he warned.