Peace negotiations reached impasse, it requires direct contact between Trump and Putin

Peace negotiations in Ukraine have reached an impasse for now, and it requires direct contact between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to make further progress, Bloomberg said, citing informed sources.

"Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff sought to persuade Putin that Russia should agree to a ceasefire that halts fighting along the current frontlines, according to two of the people, who asked not be identified discussing sensitive issues. Instead, the Russian leader maintained his maximalist position on territory, they said," Bloomberg said on Tuesday.

The talks have now reached a deadlock, one of the sources said, and direct contact between Putin and Trump is needed to make further progress.

Putin is said to be insisting that Russia must take control of four regions of Ukraine it has not fully occupied as part of any deal to end the war. The demand deals a blow to Trump's efforts to reach a ceasefire and a permanent end to the war, amid mounting frustration in the White House about a lack of progress in negotiations.

Bloomberg states Putin declared four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson — to be "forever" part of Russia after holding referendums in areas occupied by his troops months after the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Russia added them to its constitution, although it has never managed to seize all the territory covered by those regions.