U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly prepared to walk away from Ukraine peace negotiations next week if a deal is not reached soon. According to The Times, Trump is now leaning toward a plan promoted by his envoy, Steve Witkoff, which asserts that the fastest path to ending the war is through recognition of Russia’s territorial claims over Ukraine.
Publicly, however, Trump has not indicated any imminent plans to withdraw from the talks. Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said, “There are no deadlines,” following a week in which his administration had intensified pressure on Kiev to finalize a peace agreement.
The remarks came just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly rejected Trump’s proposal to end the war; a stance supported by European leaders. A counterproposal, jointly backed by Ukraine and the European Union, was then delivered to the Trump administration. Details of both proposals were made public on Friday.
Notably, Trump’s original proposal had begun with the text that its terms represented the United States’ “final offer to both sides.” Yet, his statements on Friday, including a Truth Social post claiming that the Russia-Ukraine talks were “going smoothly,” indicated no plans to disengage the U.S. from the negotiation process or broader involvement in the war. On Thursday, however, Trump had stated that he did have a deadline—though he did not elaborate on when that deadline might be.
Late Friday night, President Trump, who had arrived in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, once again took to Truth Social to claim that both sides were close to reaching a deal. He urged Ukraine and Russia to meet at “very high levels to ‘finish it off,’” reiterating his optimism despite the lack of formal progress in negotiations.
Also on Friday, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow for his fourth meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While it had been expected that Witkoff would formally present Trump’s proposal to Putin, the plan’s earlier rejection by Ukraine cast doubt on whether it was seriously considered. Their meeting lasted approximately three hours—significantly shorter than their previous two sessions, which each ran five to six hours—suggesting fewer substantive issues were discussed.
Meanwhile, U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine—allocated under former President Joe Biden—is expected to run out later this year. Reports indicate that the flow of U.S. military assistance has already slowed, leaving President Trump with three options: cut off aid entirely, use the estimated $4 billion in remaining appropriations, or seek new funding from Congress.