Washington and Moscow seek to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukrainewhich will consolidate Russian occupation in Ukrainian territories that it has occupied during its military invasion, according to sources by Bloomberg agency.

US and Russia officials are working to reach an agreement on territories in view of the summit between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Probably next week, the agency sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private consultations. The US is trying to secure the support of Ukraine and the European Allies on the agreement, which has not been locked, the sources of the international agency said.

As Bloomberg notes, Putin requires Ukraine to grant the entire eastern area of Donbas in Russia, as well as Crimea, which Russian forces annexed illegally in 2014. This would require Ukraine Volunici’s president to They are controlled by Kiev, giving Russia a victory that its army was unable to achieve militarily since the start of the full invasion in February 2022.

Such an infinite would be an important victory for Putin, who has long been seeking immediate negotiations with the US on the terms of the end of the war that he himself began, exterminating Ukraine and his European allies. Zelenski is in danger of being confronted with a difficult deal, obliging him to accept the loss of Ukrainian territory, while Europe is afraid of staying to watch the truce while Putin reconstitutions.

Russia will stop its attack on Hersona and Zaporizia in Ukraine along the current battle lines under the agreement, sources said, warning that the terms and plans of the agreement may still be amended.

It is not clear whether Moscow is willing to grant any territory it currently owns, including the nuclear power plant of Zaporizia, the largest in Europe.

The White House did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for commentary, as did Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Ukraine also did not answer.

The agreement is essentially aimed at freezing the war and paving the way for a ceasefire and negotiations for a definitive peace agreement, the agency sources said. The US had previously pressured Russia to first agree on an unconditional ceasefire in order to create space for negotiations to end the war, which is now in its fourth year.

Having returned to the White House in January with the promise of quickly resolving the worst conflict in Europe by World War II, Trump has expressed his growing frustration over Putin’s refusal to agree on a ceasefire. The two leaders have held six telephone conversations from February and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkov met Putin five times in Russia to try to reach an agreement.

Trump has not implemented immediate action against Moscow so far, although this week it has doubled duties on Indian products to 50% due to Russian oil markets, causing the anger of New Delhi. The US president has moved on by Putin to agree on a ceasefire until Friday, otherwise the US will impose duties on countries buying Russian oil to increase financial pressure on Moscow.

Putin has repeatedly insisted that his war targets remain unchanged. These include demands for Kiev to accept a neutral regime and abandon its ambitions for NATO accession, as well as to accept the loss of Crimea and the other four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions.

Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk have been under Russian occupation since 2014, when the Kremlin has prompted violent acts of the separatists shortly after the Crimean occupation operation. Putin declared the four Ukrainian regions “forever” part of Russia after announcing their annexation in September 2022, although his forces have never fully controlled these territories.

Ukraine cannot constitutionally grant ground and has stated that it will not recognize the Russian occupation and annexation of its territory.

It remains unclear if Putin will agree to attend a trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelenski next week, even if he reaches an agreement with the US president, sources added. The Russian leader told reporters on Thursday that he has no objection to meet Zelenski under the appropriate conditions, although he said they do not exist at present.

Many officials, including in the US, have expressed concern about Putin’s willingness to put an end to the war and whether he is really interested in a peace deal that will not meet his declared goals in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg sources.

Trump said on Thursday that he would be willing to meet Putin, even if the Russian leader did not agree to meet with Zelenski. “I don’t like to wait long,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “They want to meet me and I will do everything I can to stop killing.”

Kremlin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Usakov, said on Thursday that Russian and US officials are finalizing the details of a summit that will take place in the coming days and that they have agreed on its place, which it did not name.

The US had previously proposed to recognize Crimea as Russian in the context of any agreement to cease the war and to substantially grant the control of parts of other Ukrainian areas in Russia. In the context of these previous proposals, the control of the areas of Zaporizia and Peninson would return to Ukraine.