The key facts

  • Trump in a CBS News interview: “I believe we are very close to concluding a deal”
  • A “very important meeting” announced for the coming days
  • On November 5, Trump also said agreements with Moscow were near on security in Europe as well

Trump announces a deal is near

US President Donald Trump said the parties to the conflict in Ukraine are one step away from an agreement. “I believe we are very close to concluding a deal,” he said in an interview with CBS News. In addition, the American leader announced a “very important meeting” in the coming days, without disclosing its participants or agenda.

Context of previous statements

The new statement continues Trump’s recent series of remarks on the Ukraine topic. On November 5 he claimed that Moscow and Washington were close to agreements not only on settling the conflict but also on security in Europe as a whole; at the same time he reported a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation, refused to disclose the nature of the discussions, but expressed confidence that future agreements would be “large-scale” and would draw a positive reaction from all sides. Earlier he also said that after the conflict ends Ukraine may have “a somewhat different form,” and stated that Russia and Ukraine are ready to conclude a peace agreement.

What remains unknown

The publications do not reveal the content of a possible deal, the timing and participants of the announced meeting, or details of the conversation with Dmitriev, which Trump himself refused to name. The statements about a near agreement remain the words of the US president; confirmation from Russia or Ukraine is absent in the cited materials.