Vladimir Putin is reportedly considering a truce deal with Ukraine, but only if his conditions are met.
Last month (18 February), Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss the idea of ending Russia's war against Ukraine, which escalated on 24 February 2022.
According to Bloomberg, people who are said to be familiar with the matter said Putin's Russia would be open to a temporary peace plan, but only if their strict conditions are met.
One of Putin's strict conditions is that he would allegedly want to decide which countries would take part in a peacekeeping plan.
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This would include control over the structure of the peace plan and its principles, two people who are familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Donald Trump said from the Oval Office on Friday (7 March) that 'we're doing very well with Russia,' but are 'finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine', following a heated exchange with Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week (28 February).
Tensions boiled over when Vice President JD Vance demanded that Zelenskyy should express gratitude for the US's military support to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy responded with gratitude, but also highlighted the ongoing struggles of his country.
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Trump then went on to criticise Zelenskyy, something he did a lot during the meeting, warning that Ukraine was 'gambling with world war three' without US support, which has now been paused.
However, the American President said on Truth Social yesterday that he will sanction Russia if they don't stop 'pounding' Ukraine.
"Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now, l am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED," he wrote.
"To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!"
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This comes after Sir Keir Starmer told Zelenskyy he has 'full backing across the United Kingdom', after the two met in Downing Street on 1 March.
The two nations have signed a £2.26 billion loan deal for the UK to provide Ukrainian military supplies, which will be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.
As cheers could be heard from outside, Starmer told the Ukrainian leader: "That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine."
He added: "We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take."
Zelenskyy replied: "I saw a lot of people and I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, [for] such big support from the very beginning of this war."
Topics: Politics, Russia, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
Anish Vij