Polish President Andrzej Duda said both Ukraine and Russia will need to “step down” and “compromise” in order to reach a peace deal and end the war, and that neither side will be able to claim victory.
His comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to walk away from the peace process his administration is attempting to broker unless there is substantial progress soon.
That could also mean the loss of U.S. military support for Ukraine, which has been vital to its defense against Russia’s invasion.
Why It Matters
Poland is one of Ukraine’s strongest allies in Europe. Duda’s remarks are a subtle shift that acknowledges the political realities, and may be a sign of increasing pressure on Zelensky, beyond that from the Trump administration, to soften Kyiv’s position.
What To Know
The issue of Crimea is one of the major obstacles to a deal. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv refuses to acknowledge Russian sovereignty over the peninsula, reportedly part of a draft peace plan from the U.S., though Trump denied this.
The dispute over Crimea was one of the reasons a meeting in London to discuss American peace proposals was downgraded, as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out.
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“It has to be a compromise,” Duda told Euronews in an interview published on Thursday morning, referring to a deal that would end the conflict.
“I mean, de facto, this peace should, in my personal opinion, come down to the fact that neither side will be able to say that it won this war, because each side in some sense will have to step down.
“Ukraine will also have to step down in some sense, because that’s what will probably happen. To what extent? It is difficult for me to answer at this stage.”
He added: “The war is exhausting Russia, Vladimir Putin is playing a risky game. This war is exploiting Ukraine in a terrible way. These countries want to end the war. Each of them wants to win this war, that’s natural.”
Newsweek has contacted the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Ukraine via email for comment.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters: “We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes, or for the United States to walk away from this process. We have engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work. We’ve really tried to understand things from the perspective of both the Ukrainians and the Russians…and I think that we’ve put together a very fair proposal.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X, formerly Twitter: “In Ukraine, we insist on an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire. That was the proposal put forward by the United States on March 11 of this year—and it was absolutely reasonable.
“This is absolutely possible—but only if Russia agrees and stops the killing…Ukraine has repeatedly said that it does not rule out any format that can lead to a ceasefire and, ultimately, real peace.”
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing: “In fact, if we call a spade a spade, Zelensky disrupted the London round of consultations, convincingly confirming [his] intentions to torpedo the emerging peace process at any cost.”
What’s Next
Trump remains optimistic that a deal can happen, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he thinks “we have a deal with both” Russia and Ukraine, despite the tensions with Zelensky. The first major step to peace would be a ceasefire.
