Trump’s Russia Deal Proposal Alarms NATO, Ex-Commander Warns Putin Seeks Broader European Influence

President Donald Trump’s effort to broker a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and potentially reshape European security has sparked concern among NATO allies. A former supreme allied commander warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long pursued a strategy of dividing the world into competing spheres of influence.

The warning came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected what he described as a possible “Yalta 2.0,” while NATO allies debated direct outreach to Moscow ahead of delegations scheduled for talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11.

Retired General Philip Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Putin’s ambitions reach well beyond Ukraine and reflect a broader vision of how global powers should divide influence.

“Putin has a plan for the world, and he has presented that plan to leaders on several occasions,” Breedlove warned. “He talks about it, and he writes about it.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, front row from left, and Jonas Gahr Støre, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ursula von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, back row from left, stand together in the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Markus Schreiber, Pool/AP)

Trump suggested Thursday that an agreement with Moscow could extend beyond ending Russia’s nearly five-year war in Ukraine.

“It’s going to be a major agreement, and it will involve more than Ukraine — I could even say it might involve all of Europe,” Trump told reporters after meeting Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House.

“It’s going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone is going to be thrilled,” Trump added.

Breedlove said Putin has repeatedly promoted a vision of dividing global power among Russia, China and the United States.

“The plan calls for three spheres of influence: China would control the Far East, Russia would control Europe, and America would control the Western Hemisphere. I do not expect European countries to cooperate extensively,” he said.

“The Western world is waiting to see what this major plan entails, and its nations are deeply concerned because it concerns them directly,” Breedlove added.

President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) hold a meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also warned Friday against repeating the 1945 Yalta Conference, at which Allied leaders negotiated Europe’s postwar order before the Soviet Union consolidated control over Eastern Europe.

“We do not want a Yalta 2.0,” the Ukrainian leader told CNN. “We do not want to be divided by Russia,” he added. “For me, it is not simple, and it can be dangerous.”

On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that discussions about what Europe would look like after the war in Ukraine are already underway.

“It is one of the key topics raised repeatedly in every conversation whenever negotiations are discussed,” he said ahead of traveling to Paris for the G7 meeting.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks to reporters at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, April 4. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AP)

“I think that is what the president is alluding to — that some progress has been made and what that post-conflict architecture might look like. We obviously have to move beyond the conflict to reach that point,” he added, clarifying Trump’s comments.

Breedlove, however, questioned whether European governments and Ukraine would accept a broader agreement negotiated without their involvement.

“I expect that when we get a look under the hood at what Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump have devised, some European partners and allies — including Ukraine — may or may not be enthusiastic about the proposed solution,” he said.

“We have always said nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” the expert said.

“We have also heard nothing about the EU or NATO being part of this conversation. Yet the EU, NATO and Ukraine are central to the matter that is apparently going to be discussed.”

Tensions appeared to mount further after Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a rare 90-minute telephone call with Putin on October 27, according to reports.

A composite image shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) as peace talks continue. (Valery Sharifulin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images; Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized separate European diplomatic initiatives.

“I think Europe should stick together rather than going it alone,” she said, as Breedlove went on to defend the outreach.

“The two recent calls between Northern NATO leaders and Russia are not out of place at all,” he said. “I think they are entirely appropriate.”

“Europe’s great powers are becoming increasingly concerned that someone is handling their security without including them in the conversation,” he added.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed Sunday that France would take part in the Abu Dhabi negotiations.

“The Europeans will be well represented, and France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions,” Barrot said, according to Reuters.

President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.  (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Breedlove warned that any agreement requiring European nations to sacrifice their security to satisfy Moscow would still face fierce resistance.

“If Russia’s maximalist demands remain intact, and achieving peace requires the rest of Europe to give up its security, sacrifice its security and make itself more vulnerable to Russian attack, then this will not go well,” he said.

“Putin has never been a partner for peace in Ukraine, and he is not one now,” he said.

“EU nations, NATO nations and Ukraine will not sign up to a plan suggesting that Russia can once again amass its armies, march across borders and interfere in its neighbors’ internal affairs,” he said.

“We need to understand that we are in a war. Mr. Putin is at war with the West,” he warned.

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