A Ukrainian lawmaker told CBS News on Wednesday that President Trump should not approach peacemaking efforts with Russia such as a business agreementand he said that the American leader must “understand that he cannot negotiate with Putin” as the “aggressor” in the war, which is approaching its four-year mark.
Lisa Yasko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the same party as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke to CBS News after high-level talks in Moscow between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff failed to yield any breakthroughs.
Yasko said this was largely due to Putin’s lukewarm interest in achieving peace.
“[Putin] he was smiling so much in this meeting with Witkoff, but absolutely this is not about peace itself,” she said. “He is interested in showing that he is geopolitically active… how cool you are, how the Americans are treating you and that you are not a war criminal.”
“President Trump can be very transactional, in a good way too,” Yasko told CBS News. “But you can’t make peace with just economic agreements. You can’t go as far as an aggressor likes. I believe there are certain lines.”
Lisa Yasko is a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the same party as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. / Credit: CBS News
Tuesday’s meeting in the Russian capital, which also included Mr. Trump’s son Jared Kushner, was part of a concerted push by the White House to find an agreement based on a proposal from the Trump administration.
That proposal was initially laid out by the White House weeks ago as a 28-point plan, but Ukraine and its European partners stood back in calls for Kyiv to cede occupied territory to Russia, and the draft was later amended while of[ditietmauffi/jaliUkreniuEwropej
Wara r-rawnd ta’ taħditiet ta’ ħames sigħat nhar it-Tlieta, Yuri Ushakov, konsulent anzjan ta’ Putin, qal lill-ġurnalisti li l-konverżazzjoni kienet “pjuttost utli, kostruttiva, pjuttost sostantiva,” iżda li “m’aħniex eqreb biex insolvu l-kriżi fl-Ukrajna, u hemm ħafna xogħol xi jsir.”
Meta mistoqsi minn CBS News jekk temminx li Putin kien qed jilgħab għall-ħin billi jkompli jiltaqa’, Yasko qalet li l-intenzjoni vera tar-raġel b’saħħtu Russu kienet ċara: li jibdel l-ordni globali u jasserixxi lir-Russja bħala powerbroker ewlieni.
“Putin qed jipprova jkollu l-ordni dinjija l-ġdida tiegħu billi jilgħab parti ċentrali fil- [global] economy with China and the United States and with other parts of the world,” Yasko said. “Now Trump is offering a deal with benefits for [the] Russian Economy. It’s madness for all of us here in Ukraine.”
Putin, speaking ahead of talks in Moscow on Tuesday, accused America’s European allies of obstructing Mr Trump’s efforts to change a peace deal, saying he was not seeking conflict with Europe, but added that Russia was “ready for war”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to reporters during a press conference on December 2, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. / Credit: Contributor/Getty Images
Yasko urged Mr. Trump to come and see for himself the impact of Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its people — a trip Zelenskyy has also repeatedly urged his American counterpart to make.
“He should come here first,” she told CBS News. “He should see what happened in Ukraine. He should see the faces, the eyes of the people.”
Yasko called the peace agreement initially put forward by the Trump administration as an “insult” to Ukraine.
Many European leaders have expressed concern that if Russia is given what it wants in exchange for a ceasefire in Ukraine, it would set a dangerous peace precedent of unilateral land grabs, and could encourage Russia to increase threats against their countries.
Already, America’s Western European NATO allies have accused Russia of violating their airspace with drone flights over airports and military bases, as well as fighter jets. There have also been allegations of a widespread Russian sabotage campaign targeting key infrastructure in Europe.
Meanwhile, European leaders appear to have been largely sidelined as the White House negotiates directly with Russia and Ukraine.
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