HOW WOULD TRUMP REACT IF WE WERE AT WAR WITH OUR SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR AND PUTIN TOLD HIM WE WOULD HAVE TO LET MEXICO HAVE ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND TEXAS?

Donald Trump's phone call with Keir Starmer reveals drastic change to Ukraine peace plan after Zelensky was given strict ultimatum... and Putin is set to be furious

 

By James Cirrone 

 

Daily Mail

Nov 22, 2025

 

 

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Saturday and appeared to walk back his earlier, harsh deadline for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept his proposed peace plan

 

President Donald Trump appears to be backing off his peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine after pressure from European leaders, most notably from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer called Trump on Saturday about the plan, which would force Ukraine to give up a large portion of its land, heavily reduce the number of men in its army and hold elections within 100 days.

The exact details of today's phone call between Trump and Starmer have not been revealed, but it was understood to be a 'good and constructive' discussion. 

This comes after Trump gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a strict deadline of next Thursday to agree to the deal.

After the call with Starmer, who also called Zelensky on Saturday to express his support for Ukraine, Trump appeared to soften on what was previously a red line.

He told reporters this afternoon that his peace deal is 'not my final offer', opening the door to a softening of the demands on Ukraine. 

'The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened. If I were president, it never would have happened. We're trying to get it ended. One way or the other we have to get it ended,' Trump added.

However, when asked what would happen in Zelensky didn't agree to the deal, Trump snarked: 'Then he can continue to fight his little heart out.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to be upset with this shift from Trump. On Friday, Putin welcomed the peace plan as 'the basis for a final peace settlement.'

 

This came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump on Saturday about the plan, which would force Ukraine to give up a large portion of its land, cut its army in half and hold elections within 100 days

 

Putin did stress that the text of the deal 'has not been discussed with us in any substantive way'.

'The US administration has so far been unable to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and the dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,' he added. 

European nations have pushed back against Trump's proposed peace plan, which was brokered with the help of the Kremlin without Ukraine's input. 

In a joint statement released after the Group of 20 Meeting on Saturday, European leaders said they believed the plan would bring the conflict closer to an end. 

The statement — signed by Britain, Japan, Canada and the European Union — argued that Trump's plan 'includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace'.

However, they added that it 'will require additional work.'

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the G20 that his problem wasn't with the US or Trump, but with Putin, whom he accused of refusing to agree to ceasefires.

The peace plan put forward by Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been controversial with EU states because it would allow Russia to keep occupied territory in Ukraine - Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to be upset with this shift from Trump. On Friday, he welcomed the peace plan as 'the basis for a final peace settlement'

Zelensky (pictured with Trump in the Oval Office in August) has signaled to his citizens that he almost certainly won't be able to get everything he wants in a negotiated settlement

 

It would also force Ukraine to hand over other territory in the east that isn't currently occupied by Russia, mostly areas in Donetsk.

The agreement freezes the front lines of the conflict at the Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhia, which would allow Russia to effectively hold onto nearby Mariupol and have a direct line into the Crimean Peninsula.

Another key point is that Ukraine will forever be barred from NATO, the military alliance that Russia has long wanted to keep a buffer between.

Sanctions on Russia would also be lifted and the country would be ''reintegrated into the global economy'.

In exchange, Ukraine would receive looser security guarantees from the US and NATO.

Another draft agreement says NATO would treat any attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire 'transatlantic community', according to Axios.

Trump's peace deal includes many Russian demands and now that he appears open to more negotiation with NATO partners and Ukraine, the opportunity for an end to the war by next week is unlikely.

Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out handing over land to Russia, but Zelensky has signaled to his citizens that he likely won't be able to get everything he wants.

'Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,' he said in a recorded speech. 'Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.'

He said he would 'work calmly' with the US and all other partners in the peace process.

 

Russia has continued to attack Ukraine despite threats from Trump (Pictured: Large residential building in Ternopil that was hit with an airstrike on November 21)

Trump and JD Vance invited Zelensky to the White House this February hoping to make progress on a deal. They took an aggressive stance against Zelensky, with both men raising their voices numerous times 

 

The war in Ukraine has become a multi-year conflict, beginning when Russia invaded in February 2022.

Many experts say the war actually began in 2014, when Russia formally annexed Crimea, which had been part of an independent Ukraine since 1991.

As Trump campaigned for president last year, he repeatedly claimed he would end the war that had been raging for much of President Joe Biden's term on 'day one'.

It has proved more complicated than that, with both sides being fairly dug in and maintaining their diametrically opposed demands.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance invited Zelensky to the White House this February and took an aggressive stance against him, with both men raising their voices at the European leader numerous times.

Zelensky was set off when Vance claimed Trump was attempting to engage in diplomacy, whereas President Joe Biden wasn't able to stop the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and spent four years 'talking tough about Vladimir Putin.'

'He occupied big parts of Ukraine. Parts of the east and parts of Crimea. He occupied it in 2014,' Zelensky responded, referring to Putin. 'During 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people.'

'What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?' Zelensky asked the vice president.

Later, Trump told Zelensky he was 'gambling with World War III.'

Trump has also had a fair number of frustrations with Putin as the war has dragged on months into his second term.

Back in August, Trump threatened Russia with 'severe consequences' if Putin did not end the war. 

And in September, Trump conceded in private that he may have misjudged Putin's desire for peace as Russia continued bombing civilians in cities across Ukraine.