Trump says Ukraine will end up with a 'different shape' after war

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would emerge from its war with Russia with a "little bit different shape," suggesting its territory could change under a future peace deal, in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes published on Monday. He did not elaborate on what changes he had in mind.

Trump said he expected a deal to be reached and predicted the war would end soon. His remarks come ahead of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, scheduled for 10-11 November in Abu Dhabi. Russia's delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, and Ukraine's by Rustem Umerov, the head of its foreign intelligence service.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Abu Dhabi talks would be trilateral only, between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, when asked whether Europe would take part. Umerov said Ukraine's delegation would instead hold separate meetings with European partners in Abu Dhabi, alongside the trilateral talks, to coordinate positions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had earlier said the EU and France would be represented in Abu Dhabi, and Umerov said Italy would also take part in the side meetings. A senior EU diplomat told the Kyiv Independent the EU would be represented by Bjoern Seibert, von der Leyen's head of cabinet, alongside NATO and national security advisers from France, Germany and the UK, though the exact format was still unclear. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pushed for Europe's role to be discussed when EU leaders meet in Ireland on 13 November.

Trump said he saw hostility between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the biggest obstacle to a deal, saying Russia had been treated disrespectfully at the two leaders' first meeting. He declined to say which leader he trusted more, saying he got along with both.

He also defended his decision to ease US restrictions on Russian diesel exports, saying he had not lifted sanctions but had allowed Russia to supply oil products the world market needed. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions on a postwar security arrangement for Ukraine and Europe had made progress, while presidential adviser Jared Kushner said Washington had held "productive and substantive" talks with Ukraine, NATO and European partners on security guarantees.