Washington’s NATO envoy says Russia may never be ready for a fair peace agreement, contradicting President Trump’s push for a swift end to the war.

MUNICH: Washington’s envoy to NATO has cast doubt on Russia’s willingness to ever agree to a fair peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Matthew Whitaker told a panel at the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine is ready for a reasonable agreement.

“But I just am not convinced that ultimately the Russians are ready to make a deal, or ever will be able to make a deal,” he added.

His stark assessment directly contradicted the message delivered by US President Donald Trump earlier the same day.

Trump said Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky must “get moving” because “Russia wants to make a deal.”

The US president is pushing to end the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

However, US-mediated talks have so far yielded no signs of a breakthrough.

Moscow continues to demand sweeping territorial and political concessions from Kyiv.

Ukraine has rejected these demands as tantamount to capitulation.

Russia is specifically pushing for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine has rejected any unilateral pull-back of its troops.

Kyiv insists it requires robust Western security guarantees to deter any future Russian offensive following a ceasefire.

 The Sun Malaysia