Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated in an interview on Thursday that the peace agreement proposal for Ukraine from the United States is "moving in the right direction," but there are still details "that need fine-tuning." He added that although the framework of the agreement has been initially formed, specific key points and details are still being refined. Lavrov noted that President Trump is optimistic about this, believing that the current progress is positive.
When asked about Trump's statement this week about being "very close to reaching an agreement," Lavrov said, "President Trump believes we are moving in the right direction." He emphasized that Trump's stance is related to the fundamental reasons for resolving the situation in Ukraine, especially since he has criticized bringing Ukraine into NATO as a mistake, which precisely is the error made by the current U.S. administration.
On April 22, the White House announced that U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, Whitaker, would visit Russia for new talks with Putin on the Ukraine issue. Lavrov did not explicitly confirm this meeting but stated, "We will continue to stay in contact with the U.S. on the Ukraine situation," pointing out several signs of positive progress between the two countries on this issue.
During his campaign, Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war through negotiations within a day, but almost 100 days into his presidency, a peace agreement has not yet been reached. The Trump administration is now attempting to increase pressure to prompt Russia and Ukraine to quickly reach an agreement and has warned that if an agreement cannot be swiftly attained, the U.S. will abandon its efforts to mediate the conflict.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Vance also issued an ultimatum to Ukraine, demanding that it either agrees to the peace deal or the U.S. will exit the talks. Trump stated on Monday that he will announce his Russia-Ukraine peace plan within the next three days, although the plan's specific content has not been officially disclosed. According to media leaks, this plan may include the U.S. recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. Ukrainian President Zelensky strongly denied this, stating that Ukraine will never acknowledge Crimea as part of Russia.
Trump harshly criticized Zelensky's stance on the social platform Truth Social, stating that Zelensky's remarks are extremely detrimental to the peace process and argued that the Crimea issue should no longer be the focus of negotiations, pointing out "we are now very close to reaching an agreement" and urging Zelensky to agree immediately.
Trump also unusually condemned Russian President Putin on Thursday morning, expressing dissatisfaction with the airstrikes on Kyiv and emphasizing that the strikes occurred at a critical time when he was striving to reach a peace agreement. Addressing Putin, Trump declared, "Vladimir, stop!" It is reported that Russia launched its most severe attack on Kyiv Thursday night, resulting in at least 8 deaths and over 70 injuries.
