President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-03-18T04:02:07Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump is set to hold talks on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he looks to get buy-in on a U.S. ceasefire proposal that he hopes can create a pathway to ending Russias devastating war on Ukraine.The White House is optimistic that peace is within reach even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains skeptical that Putin is doing much beyond paying lip service to Trump as Russian forces continue to pound his country.The engagement is just the latest turn in dramatically shifting U.S.-Russia relations as Trump has made quickly ending the conflict a top priority, even at the expense of straining ties with longtime American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.Its a bad situation in Russia, and its a bad situation in Ukraine, Trump told reporters on Monday. Whats happening in Ukraine is not good, but were going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace. And I think well be able to do it. In preparation for the Trump-Putin call, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met last week with Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had persuaded senior Ukrainian officials during talks in Saudi Arabia to agree to the ceasefire framework. The U.S. president said Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing dividing up certain assets between Ukraine and Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict. Trump, who during his campaign pledged to quickly end the war, has at moments boasted of his relationship with Putin and blamed Ukraine for Russias unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Zelenskyy of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.Trump has said that swaps of land and power plants will be part of the conversation with Putin. Witkoff and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that U.S. and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine. The power plant has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The U.N.s International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the nuclear power plant, Europes largest, fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. The nuclear power plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of Ukraines electricity in the year before the war. I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace, Leavitt said. And weve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done.But Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, questioned whether Putin is ready to end the war or will hold out for potential further concessions as Trump grows impatient.After a disastrous Feb. 28 White House meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump temporarily cut off some military intelligence-sharing and aid to Ukraine. It was restored after the Ukrainians last week signed off on the Trump administrations 30-day ceasefire proposal. The U.S. has been consistently offering in some form preemptive concessions that have been weakening the American and Ukrainian negotiating position, Bowman said. I think theres a real danger here that the administrations approach is boiling down to sticks for Ukraine and carrots for Putin.Zelensky in his nightly video address on Monday made clear he remains doubtful that Putin is ready for peace.Now, almost a week later, its clear to everyone in the world even to those who refused to acknowledge the truth for the past three years that it is Putin who continues to drag out this war, Zelenskyy said.In his dealings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump has frequently focused on who has the leverage. Putin has the cards and Zelenskyy does not, Trump has said repeatedly.Trump, who has long shown admiration for Putin, has also made clear hed like to see the U.S.-Russia relationship return to a more normal footing. The president during his recent contentious meeting with Zelenskyy grumbled that Putin went through a hell of a lot with me, a reference to the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in which he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump on Monday again underscored his view that Ukraine is not in a strong negotiating position. He said Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian troops in Russias Kursk region amplifying an assertion made by Russian officials thats been refuted by Zelenskyy.Ukraines army stunned Russia in August last year by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. But Ukraines forces are now in retreat and it has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip, as momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia. Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the Ukrainians are on their back foot but refutes Russian claims that they have encircled his troops in Kursk.Trump suggested that hes taken unspecified action that has kept Russia from slaughtering Ukrainian troops in Kursk.Theyre surrounded by Russian soldiers, and I believe if it wasnt for me they wouldnt be here any longer, Trump said.Leavitt is one of three Trump administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site