Trump reverses on the need for a ceasefire before a potential peace deal ending the war in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course in the wake of his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to say an overall peace agreement — not the ceasefire that he has long championed — is the next step in ending the 3 1/2-year war in Ukraine.

In talks with European allies after Friday's summit in Alaska, Trump said Putin reiterated that he wants the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas. But Putin appeared open to the possibility of halting the stalemate in two other regions, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with a freeze along the front lines.

That is according to European officials familiar with the calls who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks at a U.S. military base between the American and Russian presidents. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously rejected giving up the territory in the Donbas.

The aftermath of the summit offered little clarity about the next steps, other than Trump's commitment for more meetings, including with Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. It was unclear among those briefed on the exchanges whether Trump saw Putin's desire for the Donbas as acceptable, with Trump's blunt but elliptical way of speaking only adding to a sense of confusion.

The White House had yet to provide a public summary of the calls as Trump golfed on Saturday with his special envoy Steve Witkoff and Fox News anchor Bret Baier at his Virginia golf club. The most transparent takeaway was Trump's abrupt reversal on a ceasefire, raising questions of how peace talks can proceed if attacks continue.

Trump's abandoning a ceasefire as a requirement for further negotiations aligns him with a position held by Putin. The Russian leader has long said Moscow is not interested in a temporary truce and is seeking a long-term settlement that takes the Kremlin’s interests into account.

After the calls with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump said Saturday on social media that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told ZDF television that Trump said “Russia seems to be prepared to conduct the negotiations based on the so-called line of contact and not the administrative boundaries.” It was unclear from the comments how issues pertaining to the Donbas had been resolved.

Zelenskyy has previously refused to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that Ukraine controls. He says that would be unconstitutional and the territory could be used as a staging ground for later Russian attacks.

In a statement after the Trump call, major European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire, saying they “welcomed President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace.”

Putin on Saturday described his talks with Trump as “very frank.”

“We, of course, respect the position of the American administration, which sees the need for a speedy end to military actions,” he said at the follow-up meeting at the Kremlin, a clip of which was posted to the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. “We would like to move to resolving all issues by peaceful means.”

Putin has “broken out of international isolation” and “wasn’t in the least challenged” by Trump, who also ignored an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court, said Laurie Bristow, who was British ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020. But the U.S. isn’t a member of the court and thus doesn’t have an obligation to arrest him.

Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday and that they would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war” on Monday.

It will be Zelenskyy’s first visit to the United States since Trump berated him publicly for being “disrespectful” during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting in February.

Trump confirmed the White House meeting and said that “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.”

Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not at the summit, “to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America.”

“We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader did not elaborate, but he has previously said European partners put on hold a proposal to establish a foreign troop presence in Ukraine to deter Russian aggression because it lacked an American backstop.

In apparent effort to bolster Zelenskyy’s hand before the White House meeting, France, the United Kingdom and Germany will co-host a video call Sunday of “coalition of the willing” nations that could help monitor and uphold any deal to end fighting, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.

The French, German, Italian, British, Finnish, Polish and European Union leaders said “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees” and they welcomed U.S. readiness to provide them.

“It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory,” their statement said. “International borders must not be changed by force.”

During an interview with Fox News Channel before returning to Washington, Trump insisted the onus might be on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” but that there also would be some involvement from European nations.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,” noting that Moscow launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met.

“Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing,” she said.

Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Since spring, Russian troops have accelerated their gains, capturing the most territory since the opening stages of the war.

Zelenskyy voiced support for Trump’s proposal for a meeting with the U.S. and Russia. He said that “key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.”

But Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state television Saturday that a possible three-way meeting “has not been touched upon yet” in U.S.-Russia discussions.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that he told Trump "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.“

Fiona Hill, Trump’s former senior adviser on Russia, told The Associated Press that the U.S. president has met his match because “Putin is a much bigger bully than Trump is.”

“He’s run out of his persuasive powers with Putin,” said Hill, adding that Trump has “plenty” of coercive powers to use against the Russian leader but “he doesn’t want to use them.”

“Ukrainians want peace for sure, and Putin wants pieces of Ukraine," she said. "Very large pieces.”

Leicester reported from Paris and Burrows from London. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Elise Morton in London and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

The Kremlin Wall, the Spasskaya Tower, second left, empty Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral are seen in an early morning prior to sunrise in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves after a joint press statement with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz following talks with European and U.S. leaders in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., early Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, from a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

F-35 fighter escorts a Ilyushin Il-96-300 aircraft of the Russia Special Flight Squadron carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin back to Russia after his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump boards Air Force one at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson following a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shows his tie to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before a news conference with President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. At left is Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and second from right is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz following talks with European and U.S. leaders in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump departs following a joint press conference with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee law has eased up on two longstanding financial hurdles for people with felony sentences who want their voting rights back, including a unique requirement among states that they must have fully paid their child support costs.

The Republican-supermajority Legislature approved the Democratic-sponsored change, which now lets people prove they have complied for the last year with child support orders, such as payment plans. The legislation also unties the payment of all court costs from voting rights restoration.

Advocates for years have sought various changes to Tennessee’s voting rights restoration system at the statehouse and in court. They say loosening these two rules marks the biggest rollback of restrictions to voting rights restoration in decades.

“This is huge and this is history,” said Keeda Haynes, senior attorney for the advocacy group Free Hearts led by formerly incarcerated women like her.

Most Republicans voted for it and Democrats supported it unanimously. The law took effect immediately upon Republican Gov. Bill Lee's signature last week.

“I think people are at a point where they want to just remove the barriers out of the way and allow people to be fully functional members of society,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Karen Camper, a bill sponsor.

In 2023 and early 2024, the state decided that the system did require going to court or showing proof of a pardon, not just a paperwork process, and that gun rights were required to restore the right to vote. Election officials said a court ruling made the changes necessary, though voting rights advocates said officials misinterpreted the order.

Last year, lawmakers untangled voting and gun rights. But voting rights advocates opposed some of the bill's other provisions, such as keeping the process in the courts, where costs can rack up if someone isn't ruled indigent.

Easing up on the financial requirements uncommonly split legislative Republicans. For instance, Senate Speaker Randy McNally voted against it, while House Speaker Cameron Sexton supported it, noting that people aren't getting forgiveness on making their payments.

“They need to continue paying that, and as long as they do, then there’s a possibility (to restore their voting rights)," Sexton said. "I really think that’s harder for people to argue against than maybe what something else was.”

Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett, who voted no, said in committee his vote would hinge on whether “there still can be an (child support) arrearage owed beyond that 12 months.”

For some, backed-up child support payments could reach hundreds or thousands of dollars, and court costs could be hundreds or thousands more, said Gicola Lane, Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote community partnership senior manager.

Advocates credited their narrowed focus, omitting goals such as automatic restoration of rights, no longer tying restitution payments to voting rights, or offering a path for certain people to restore their right who are permanently disenfranchised, including those convicted of voter fraud or most murder charges.

The bill passed the Senate last year and the House this year.

Lawmakers gave the child support requirement final passage in 2006 within an overhaul bill that also created a voting rights restoration process outside of court. Critics said the child support rule penalized impoverished parents.

Democrats were then narrowly hanging onto legislative leadership in both chambers. Republicans held a slim Senate majority but GOP defectors voted for a Democratic speaker.

Last year marked the dismissal of a nearly five-year-old federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s voting-rights restoration system. Free Hearts and the Campaign Legal Center represented plaintiffs in the long-delayed case, which saw some election policy changes along the way.

Roughly 184,000 people have completed supervision for felonies and their offenses don't preclude them from restoring their voting rights, according to a plaintiffs expert’s 2023 estimate in the lawsuit. About one in 10 were estimated to have outstanding child support payments, and more than six in 10 owed court courts, restitution or both, the expert said.

Both Republican and Democratic-led states have eased the voting rights restoration process in recent years. Some states have added complexities.

In Florida, after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions, the Republican-controlled Legislature watered that down by requiring payment of fines, fees and court costs.

Voting rights are automatically restored upon release in nearly half of states. In 15 others, it occurs after parole, probation or a similar period and sometimes requires paying outstanding court costs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Maine and Vermont, people with felonies keep their voting rights in prison, the NCSL says.

Ten other states including Tennessee require additional government action. Virginia ’s governor must intervene to restore voting rights of people convicted of felonies. In some states, including Tennessee, certain conviction types render someone ineligible.

However, Virginia lawmakers this year have passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to ask voters whether they want automatic voting rights restoration after someone is released from prison. Kentucky lawmakers have proposed a similar change for voters' consideration that would automatically restore voting rights after certain completed sentences, including probation.

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen, Jan. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)