According to a senior U.S. official, Putin clearly proposed the conditions for the ceasefire for the first time in a phone call with Trump this week: asking Ukraine to hand over full control of Donetsk Oblast to Russia, which became a key prerequisite for ending the war.
New proposal for ceasefire: abandon part of the occupied areas and lock down the core claims of Donetsk
In a two-and-a-half-hour call, according to U.S. media reports, Putin released signs of concessions — that he was willing to give up control of parts of Zaporozhye and Helsinki, both of which are now partly occupied by the Russian military.
However, Russia's condition is that Ukraine must completely abandon Donetsk Oblast and completely return this place to Russia.
Russian Assistant President Ussakov subsequently confirmed that Putin in the call stressed that this condition is "the bottom line that Russia can currently accept", and also directly said that if the United States provided Ukraine with "Tax" cruise missiles, not only can not change the situation on the battlefield, but also seriously affect the peaceful progress and Russian-US relations.
Trump said he would convey Russian concerns to the past when he met with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
Russia rejected the U.S. proposal to “freeze conflict along the existing fronts” and was determined to bring Crimea and the four regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Helsinki under Russian jurisdiction in full, but this time they proactively narrowed the scope of the demands.
Reactions split: White House sees "progress" and Europe criticizes "absurd"
Regarding Putin's new plan, the international reaction is different. Some White House people called this "good progress" and felt that Russia showed a "real concession gesture" for the first time, laying the foundation for peaceful negotiations.
Trump also publicly said after the call that the conversation was "very fruitful" and that the two sides "have made great progress" in stopping the conflict and post-war Russia-US trade cooperation.
The European side obviously disagrees with this. An experienced European diplomat said bluntly that this proposal was absurd for Ukraine: "It's like letting them sell their legs and get nothing."
The diplomat emphasized in particular that Donetsk is one of the territories clearly defined in the Ukrainian Constitution, and that Russia proposed to "abandon some of the illegal occupied areas" in exchange for sovereignty over other regions, fundamentally speaking, or "territorial robbery under the hard hand", Ukraine would never accept such conditions.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has not yet responded directly to Russia’s proposal, but during a meeting with Trump in the White House on October 17, he said he had “enlarged air defense and long-range strike capabilities” as the main objective, meaning that Ukraine still wants to reverse the situation by military means and has no intention of accepting concessions involving territory.
Next Next post: Budapest Summit Becomes a “Test Stone” for Peace Negotiations
After this call, Russia and the United States have decided on arrangements for the next meeting. Trump said on social platforms that the United States and Russia will hold a high-level preparatory meeting first next week, when the U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Rubio, will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's team on specific matters; After this preparatory meeting, he will hold a summit with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, which may take place within two weeks.
The Hungarian side has clearly expressed its support: Prime Minister Orban confirmed in the letter that "it is ready for talks," and Foreign Minister Seyardo also stressed that "negotiations are the path to peace, and the solution to war is not on the battlefield."
However, the course of the summit is still unstable.Putin has already shown attitude, warning that if the United States eventually decides to provide Ukraine with "Tax" missiles, it will seriously hit relations between Russia and the United States, and whether the meeting in Budapest will go smoothly, I am afraid a question will be raised.
After meeting Zelensky, Trump only vaguely called on the two sides to “stop killing and reach an agreement” and did not say whether he would pressure Ukraine to accept the Russian conditions.
According to the analysis, Putin's change of position this time is not only to stabilize the control of the Donetsk battlefield. After all, about 70% of the area is currently controlled by Russia, and it is also a strategic test of the election timing in the United States.
If Trump urges Ukraine to accept concessions, Russia and the United States may be able to find new cooperation points on issues such as post-war trade and arms control; However, once Ukraine insists on not making concessions and European allies put pressure together, the possibility of peace this time is expected to be compromised again.