Trump and Putin's meeting fell through: Gordon explained why the war did not end on December 30.
The newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, were scheduled to meet on December 30. The topic of their meeting was to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine. However, the meeting that could have led to peace did not take place. Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon reported on the breakdown of contacts between the presidents stated.
Gordon made this statement during a stream on his YouTube channel that he began at 10:00 PM on December 30. According to him, Trump and Putin were supposed to meet to negotiate the end of the war or to pause the active phase, but the meeting fell through.
The speaker reminded that the day before, he had announced a "historic meeting that would halt the active phase of the war if everything went well." However, it was not specified who exactly was to meet, and instead, people were advised to follow official announcements. In his address on December 30, the journalist mentioned that he had been in Washington at the beginning of December, where he was informed about a secret meeting planned for the end of the year. This information came from two sources in the U.S. and one in Ukraine, though Gordon did not disclose their names. He also assured that he was "not hyping" for more subscribers, as he already has a substantial following of 11 million.
The journalist provided some details about the negotiations. For instance, the meeting was to take place via videoconference. The discussion was intended to "consolidate certain points": after that, the "active phase of the war was supposed to end." He also clarified that this involved a ceasefire along the front line, halting the use of drones, artillery, etc. One piece of evidence that serious shifts were being discussed was the statement from Trump's special representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, Gordon noted. He then recalled a series of statements from Trump, Putin, and other top officials regarding the mysterious flights of a Russian special aircraft to the U.S., and the "almost complete cessation of strikes on Ukraine." He further emphasized that the final link in the chain of events was when Dmitry Peskov, a representative of the Kremlin, appeared on air after a video announcement about the end of the war and stated that Putin had no scheduled meetings.
"These negotiations ended up achieving nothing, specifically — a demarche from the Russian side," Gordon declared.
End of the War — Gordon on the Meetings Between Putin and Trump
In the video, information was presented about the "Kremlin's desires":
- beginning negotiations without a ceasefire;
- negotiations from the Russian side are only possible after concessions from the U.S.;
- Ukraine's non-membership in NATO, backed by international commitments;
- demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine;
- preventing a peacekeeping contingent from NATO member countries;
- Russia allowed peacekeepers from China, Brazil, and Belarus, up to 20,000 personnel with light firearms and only under a UN mandate;
- lifting sanctions on Russia.
What are the proposals from Trump's team:
- ceasefire along the contact line;
- a demilitarized zone along the entire 1,300 km front;
- a peacekeeping contingent from NATO member countries. If Russia starts shooting, it would be considered an attack on the Alliance;
- Ukraine's non-membership in NATO for 20 years;
- rearming Ukraine;
- partial and gradual lifting of sanctions on Russia;
- non-recognition by Ukraine of the occupation of territories and their return through diplomatic means.
As of now, there have been no comments on Gordon's statement regarding the meeting between Trump and Putin, which was supposed to take place on December 30, from the pages of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Head of the Office Andrey Yermak, or other top officials.
On December 29, Gordon stated that he has accurate information about the end of the war on December 30. According to his data, the likelihood of achieving peace is 90-95%.
Recall that on December 28, the Financial Times published five scenarios of Trump's foreign policy, some of which disregard the interests of both Ukraine and Taiwan.