Putin offered no concessions in Ukraine talks, Fox analyst says
4 Min Read
A Fox News analyst said Russian President Vladimir Putin has made no concessions in Ukraine peace talks, complicating US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a deal with Volodymyr Zelensky.
-
Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) on the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. (Screengrab)
Fox News analyst Retired General Jack Keane said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to offer "a single concession" toward ending the war in Ukraine, reflecting the challenges facing current US-led diplomatic efforts.
Keane, who frequently appears on Fox as a national security commentator and also chairs the Institute for the Study of War, made the observation during an interview that coincided with President Donald Trump's latest round of meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The White House talks came just days after Trump met Putin at a US military base in Alaska, where the American president leaned toward Moscow's demands that Ukraine accept concessions on territory seized by Russia. Trump had earlier floated the idea of "land swaps" but, as Keane pointed out, Putin has shown no willingness to surrender any Russian-held territory.
"We'd like to see this thing go forward and get this process moving in the right direction," Keane said, referring to Trump's push to craft a peace deal. "But we do have a person on the other side who, up to now, hasn't made a single concession of any consequence. And that's the reality that President Trump, Zelensky and the Europeans are dealing with."
Putin concessions absent
After hosting Zelensky at the Oval Office, Trump dismissed the notion of a simple truce. "I don't think you need a ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war," Trump told reporters. "I didn't do any ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn't want it."
Keane speculated that Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, returned from talks with Putin convinced that "Putin hadn't changed one iota in terms of a ceasefire," forcing Trump and his team to consider other options, including whether to "crush his economy now or" leave space for a broader bargain.
The retired general emphasized the role of Western security guarantees for Ukraine, noting, "How comprehensive are they? How much teeth are they going to have in them? And certainly, President Zelensky is going to make an assessment of that in terms of does that satisfy him in establishing real deterrence with Putin?"
He added that such guarantees could give Kiev more flexibility, "Because if it does ... what that gives Zelensky, then, is a lot of running room in terms of options. It's possible, then he could give up land and maybe get some others in return if he believes there is a real deterrence there and a real red line that will hold Putin accountable."
Read more: Group of 30 countries working on security guarantees for Ukraine: NATO
Tentative talks
Zelensky described his latest conversation with Trump as positive: "I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump, very good. And it really was the best one, or, sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future."
From Moscow, Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told state news agency TASS that the Russian leader "spoke in favor" of continuing dialogue with Kiev and discussed "the idea of raising the level of the direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations."
Looking ahead, Trump announced he is arranging a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky, though no date or venue has been disclosed.
