Trump predicts big Russia deal covering Ukraine and Europe

Washington — Donald Trump has predicted a "very big" deal with Russia that would stretch beyond the war in Ukraine to what he called "all of Europe", after an unscheduled White House meeting with Vladimir Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.

Mr Dmitriev was at the White House on Thursday for talks with Ukrainian officials hosted by the First Lady, Melania Trump, when the president met him separately, The Hindu reported. Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he could not say what the two discussed, but promised "a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled." He said it would "involve more than Ukraine, and I could even say it might involve all of Europe."

Notably, the president said he had not met the Ukrainian officials who were also in the building — the guests, instead, of his wife. Ms Trump had called for a new, "more enduring" ceasefire while hosting the rare joint meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials, as Wide World News reported. Mr Trump suggested that meeting, and a localised six-day truce she announced last month in the southern city of Oleshky, could be a stepping stone to the wider deal.

The remarks will do little to settle nerves in NATO capitals, which have been watching for signs that Mr Trump might meet what the Kremlin has long sought: a smaller American footprint in Europe. Mr Trump has hinted at withdrawing troops from the continent, and European governments fear Kyiv could be pressed into an unfavourable settlement to end Russia's invasion.

Some caution is warranted. Mr Trump promised before taking office in January 2025 that he would end the war within 24 hours, and he has repeatedly announced imminent peace deals that never came to pass. So far there is no text, no framework and no timetable — only a prediction.

The next marker is whether the White House produces anything in writing, and whether the Oleshky truce holds long enough to be built on. Until then, "very big" remains a description, not a document.