Former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz said Saturday on Newsmax that President Donald Trump’s fragile peace framework will only succeed if Russia, Ukraine, and Europe all commit to difficult compromises.
Fleitz, vice chair of the America First Policy Institute, said efforts by President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine will hinge on buy-in from all sides. Speaking on “Wake Up America Weekend” on Saturday, Fleitz described the talks as the beginning of a delicate process that could ultimately lead to peace.
“Well, the critics are, of course, attacking it. They'll attack anything that Trump did,” Fleitz said. “But I note that the top seven or eight European states issued a statement praising Trump for his peace efforts, saying they stand with Ukraine, say that we need more talks.”
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Friday to discuss a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Meanwhile, Russia launched a ballistic missile and 85 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
“Zelenskyy will be going to the White House on Monday to follow up this meeting. And what I see happen is that Trump put together a very fragile framework, which is why they didn't discuss it at a press conference afterwards, which will require compromises by Russia, by Ukraine, by Europe. It's going to require buy-in, by Europe and by Ukraine.”
Fleitz stressed that any resolution will be imperfect. “Ukraine is not going to get the land back that Russia took, although I think Russia may give some land back. But it is Trump’s approach to stop the killing, which has always been his primary objective,” he said.
He also recalled that former President Joe Biden had ignored signs of impending conflict before the Russian invasion. “We know that Biden dangled NATO membership in front of Zelenskyy in 2021 and frankly ignored growing signs in late 2021 that Putin was planning to invade,” Fleitz said. “Biden just figured he could make idle threats of sanctions and Putin would just back down.”
“Ending a war is hard. It takes a process,” he said. “The first stage of this process was Trump meeting with Putin, feeling him out, making some preliminary agreements, talking about areas of disagreement. Then we go to try to sell the various parties to the dispute. Bring Zelenskyy to Washington, and that works. There’ll be a third stage. This is how you resolve complex conflicts.”
The next steps, according to Fleitz, will involve “intense diplomatic consultation with Zelenskyy and with the Europeans to get them on board with this, to work on the areas of disagreement. And I think we're going to put pressure on Putin to basically at least slow down the war.”
“There should be a ceasefire now,” he said. “The fact that the war continues, I think, is outrageous. But if Putin does things that make the conflict worse, that may make it impossible to get to an agreement. So we’re going to be putting pressure on all three sets of parties to try to get this process moving forward.”
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.