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Retired General Jack Keane made this observation during an interview on Fox News, where he frequently appears as a national security analyst. Keane is also the chairman of the Institute for the Study of War. When reached by The Associated Press, the Kremlin declined to comment.
Keane’s comments came shortly after former President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House to discuss the status of U.S.-brokered talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in 2022 without provocation. During a summit in Alaska on Friday, Trump had expressed support for Putin’s demands that Ukraine make concessions over land seized by Russia.
“President Trump would like to see this process move forward,” Keane said, “but up until now, the reality is that President Putin has not made any significant concessions.”
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky took place nearly six months after Zelensky’s disastrous visit to the White House in Trump’s second term. After his talks with Zelensky, Trump scrapped the possibility of a ceasefire, favoring a comprehensive peace deal instead.
“The U.S. and Europe are considering giving Ukraine security guarantees,” Keane noted. “Zelensky will assess whether these guarantees provide real deterrence against Putin. If so, he might consider concessions.”
Keane added that Trump’s meeting with Zelensky and Putin would be a “telltale sign” of whether negotiations should continue.
In response to Trump’s comments on Fox News, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, stated that they had discussed raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.
Zelensky told reporters following his meeting with Trump: “We had a very good conversation, and it was the best one.”
Robert B. Murrett, a professor at Syracuse University, agreed that Ukraine should not give up its claims to Crimea and other regions annexed by Russia.
Trump announced on Monday evening that he had begun setting up a trilateral meeting between himself, Zelensky, and Putin, though details about the summit’s timing and location remain undisclosed.
