Ukraine has turned down a proposal from former U.S. President Donald Trump to open peace negotiations with Russia, insisting that talks can only proceed after a formal cease-fire is in place, according to multiple accounts of the August 16 discussions. President Volodymyr Zelensky also rejected calls aired during the same contacts for Ukraine to pull its forces from the Russian-occupied Donbass region, a step Kyiv says would amount to unilateral concession. The stance makes a near-term diplomatic breakthrough increasingly unlikely despite renewed U.S. and European efforts to broker an agreement.