After returning to the White House, Trump tried to ease relations with Russia: the American president explained that in this way the confrontation with the Kremlin would be reduced and he would be able to concentrate on the internal problems of the United States. Moreover, during his election campaign, Trump emphasized that he would "end the war in 24 hours". After taking office, he adjusted this goal and ordered to achieve an end to Russia's war against Ukraine within 100 days.
One of the first steps in the policy of easing relations with Moscow was the rejection of "strategic defeat" of Russia in the war against Ukraine - a goal that was announced by the previous government of President Joe Biden. Already in the winter of 2025, official Washington stated that "the probability of Russia being defeated on the battlefield is quite low", so Kiev should begin negotiations with Moscow.
In the first half of 2025, the Trump administration also formulated its key positions on how to end the war in Ukraine: the parties to the conflict are obliged to agree on a ceasefire; Ukraine is obliged to abandon NATO membership in the medium term; part of the Russian-controlled territories in Eastern Ukraine must be handed over to Russia, and the Kremlin must show readiness for concessions, with the details on this issue becoming the subject of discussion between Washington and Moscow.
Policy of easing relations with the Kremlin
In the policy of easing relations with the Kremlin, the Trump administration adhered to a dual approach. On the one hand, the authorities in Washington emphasized their readiness for dialogue with Russia, despite the international isolation of this country. The United States also voted against the UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russian military aggression.
However, Trump refused to lift sanctions against Russia, emphasizing that he needed them as a tool for exerting pressure. The US president continued to claim that he believed in Putin's sincere desire to end the war, "regardless of Russia bombing Ukraine". In mid-March, Trump initiated dialogue with the Kremlin and announced that he had received Putin's consent for a 30-day cessation of strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities. At the time, Russia rejected the White House's proposal for a general ceasefire.
"Russia's demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine are excessive"
Thanks to Washington's mediation efforts, in April 2025, representatives of Russia and Ukraine met again for the first time since the talks between them broke down as a result of Russian aggression. The Kremlin rejected the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, but agreed to an exchange of prisoners of war.
In late spring, Moscow handed the White House a list of its conditions for ending the war. Among them were: Ukraine's refusal to join NATO, the termination of Western military assistance, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the administrative borders of Donbas, the holding of new elections in Ukraine and the declaration of Russian as the state language in these territories.
Then Trump himself declared Russia's demands excessive. The US President repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with Putin, with whom he had several fruitless telephone conversations.
Subsequently, the US imposed a new package of sanctions, providing for the tightening of Russian oil exports. At the same time, Washington said that it was renewing support for Kiev in attacks on Russian oil facilities and energy infrastructure.
Trump accepted Russia's position: negotiations, then a ceasefire
The turning point in Russian-American relations came in August 2025. Amid the US president's public discontent with the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine and Putin's reluctance to make concessions, Moscow suggested that Washington hold a meeting in Alaska with the participation of the presidents of both countries.
On the eve of the meeting, the Trump administration still supported the demand of Ukraine and the European Union for an immediate ceasefire as a condition for future peace talks. During the meeting, however, Putin managed to convince Trump of the Kremlin's position - that negotiations to end the war should first be held, and only then the terms of the ceasefire should be agreed upon.
After the meeting in Anchorage, the White House said that the Kremlin agreed to make concessions, but specific details were never disclosed. According to sources from "Axios", "New York Times" and Reuters, Russia then expressed its readiness to stop military operations in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, provided that Ukrainian armed forces withdraw from the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Putin later confirmed that Russia was ready to accept these compromises proposed by the United States.
However, Russia's unwillingness to make real concessions failed the trilateral meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, which Trump had insisted on. For the same reason, the planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents in Budapest was canceled.
The Witkoff and Ushakov Negotiation Model
In the fall of 2025, Washington initiated a new model for negotiations to settle the war in Ukraine, led by Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. Citing the success of Trump's peace plan for Gaza, the United States formulated its own plan for settling the war in Ukraine and began to demand that Moscow and Kiev agree to its main points.
According to international media sources, the peace plan in question by Washington primarily contained Moscow's positions, and Europe and Ukraine were asked to comment on and correct them in a short time. The terms of Trump's 28-point plan became known in late November during a visit to Kiev by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who then claimed that "Ukraine will not get better terms for peace".
The main difference between this model and the attempts to reach an agreement to end the war since the first half of 2025 was that the parties were no longer discussing the terms of a ceasefire. Their focus was more on the issues of the post-war structure of Ukraine and Western security guarantees.
At the same time, the United States continued to discuss with Russia and Europe the transformation of the transatlantic security system, and in particular the obligation to non-expand NATO, non-aggression guarantees between Russia and the Alliance, the lifting of sanctions against Russia, the status of the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank, etc.
After several rounds of negotiations in November and December 2025, four documents were developed between the United States, Ukraine and Europe: a 20-point peace plan, multilateral guarantees for the security of Ukraine, special security guarantees from the United States, and a plan for the economic recovery of Ukraine after the ceasefire. Russia did not participate in the development of these documents.
Doubts about success
According to sources in the "New York Times", American negotiators involved in the development of Trump's peace plan were optimistic, but US officials have already expressed their doubts. Vice President J.D. Vance stressed in December 2025 that success in achieving peace is not yet guaranteed. The position of Secretary of State Marco Rubio was similar, according to whom "the obstacles to peace are still very great".
At the same time, in January 2026, an official Washington accused Russia of "inexplicable and dangerous" escalation of the war due to the ongoing attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
Today, with the mediation of the US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meet in Abu Dhabi in an attempt to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Author: Asya Lokina