US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a major agreement with Russia over Ukraine is coming and suggested it would reach well past the conflict itself. Speaking to journalists, he described the prospective deal as "very big" and said it could take in the whole of Europe, according to Le Figaro.
Trump also said he had met Kirill Dmitriev, the envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was invited to the White House on Thursday by First Lady Melania Trump. He said he had not, however, spoken with the Ukrainian delegation, which his wife had also invited to an event marking a ceasefire she oversaw at Olechky.
"This will be a big agreement and it will concern more than Ukraine," Trump said. "It will be very big. It will cover more than Ukraine and I would even say it could cover all of Europe." He added that it would be "a great and beautiful agreement" and that everyone would be pleased with it.
Why it matters
The remarks matter because they suggest Washington is framing any settlement as a broader European security arrangement rather than a narrow Ukraine-only file. That prospect is likely to raise questions in European capitals, several of which are bound to the United States militarily through NATO. Le Figaro notes that Trump's comments will almost certainly prompt scrutiny among allies who have followed Washington's recent moves toward Moscow with concern.
The comments also land at a delicate political moment. They came after a striking Democratic victory in the US midterm elections. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she hoped the incoming US Congress, which sits from January, would apply "more pressure on Russia."
Talks set for Abu Dhabi
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are due to meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, with the United States acting as mediator, in an attempt to find a way out of the conflict. The Emirati talks give the latest diplomatic push a concrete date and venue.
Trump has drawn closer to Moscow in recent weeks. According to Le Figaro, he concluded an agreement on deliveries of Russian diesel and exempted Russia from new sanctions on its energy sector. Those steps, taken together with Thursday's prediction, point to a White House approach that mixes pressure with engagement.
The Kremlin responded cautiously. Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said Trump remains "in office" and added that Moscow sincerely hopes he will keep up his efforts in favour of peace.
A wider diplomatic calendar
Trump's schedule could put him in the same room as both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Le Figaro reports that he may meet the two leaders during a trip to China in a little under two weeks for the APEC economic summit. A meeting of that kind would give Washington a chance to discuss Ukraine and broader security questions with two of the most consequential capitals in one stretch.
For now, the substance of the "very big" deal Trump described remains undisclosed. He gave no details on what it would contain, which countries it would bind, or what obligations it would place on Russia. The Ukrainian side has not commented in the reporting summarised here on his remarks about a Europe-wide arrangement.
What is clear is the sequence: a White House meeting with Putin's envoy, a public prediction of a sweeping accord, and talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi days later. Each element carries its own weight, and together they set the stage for a diplomatic fortnight that will be watched closely from Brussels, Kyiv and Moscow alike.
Watch the Abu Dhabi talks on November 10 and 11 for the first sign of whether the mediation produces anything concrete, and watch whether European governments respond publicly to Trump's suggestion that any deal could extend across the continent.
