Russia has warned that it may reject the Trump administration’s latest Ukraine peace plan unless the ‘key understandings’ from the August Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin are upheld. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Moscow is waiting for the updated version of the plan and that the situation might become ‘fundamentally different’ if the terms of the summit agreements are not respected.
Lavrov stated that Russia is expecting an updated version of the Trump administration’s peace plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year war. He warned that if the terms of the ‘key understandings’ are ‘extinguished,’ the situation would become ‘fundamentally different.’ Russia has remained steadfast in its demands, insisting that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO and must surrender the rest of the Donbas as part of any peace deal.
John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, told Fox News Digital that Moscow’s intransigence over the past 10 months has been the main obstruction to Trump’s diplomatic efforts. He criticized the U.S. for its inconsistent strategies, flipping between pressuring Russia and imposing its terms on Kyiv. Hardie emphasized the need for sustained military support for Ukraine and economic pressure on Russia, suggesting that Putin is unlikely to see Ukraine or Western resolve, especially the U.S., falter.
Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman expressed skepticism about the possibility of ending the war, noting that the U.S. lacks the leverage to compel Moscow to halt its invasion. Hoffman explained that Putin’s strategic objective has always been to overthrow the democratically elected Ukrainian government, and he views negotiations as a way to assert Russia’s primacy in its self-designated sphere of influence.
Ukraine has agreed to a peace deal to end the war with Russia, but some details remain to be finalized. A U.S. official told Fox News that a Ukrainian delegation was in Abu Dhabi and in contact with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and his team. Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi to discuss the framework for a Ukraine peace deal.