Trump's Proposed Russia Deal Raises NATO Alarm as Ex-Commander Warns of Putin's Sphere-of-Influence Plan

President Donald Trump's push for a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine has raised alarm among NATO allies, with a former top alliance commander warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long sought to divide the world into competing spheres of influence.

Trump said on Thursday, after meeting Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House, that an agreement with Moscow would extend beyond ending Russia's war in Ukraine. "It's going to be a big agreement, and it's going to involve more than Ukraine... I could even say it might involve all of Europe," he told reporters.

Trump added, "It's going to be a big, beautiful agreement, and everyone's going to be thrilled."

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told Fox News Digital that Putin's ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine and reflect a broader vision for how global powers should divide influence.

"Putin has a plan for the world, and he has pushed that plan on leaders several times," Breedlove said. "He talks about it and he writes about it."

In his words, the plan is three spheres of influence, whereby China controls the Far East, Russia controls Europe, and America controls the Western Hemisphere. "I do not expect there's going to be a lot of cooperation from the countries of Europe," Breedlove said.

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

Zelenskyy told CNN, "We don't want to have Yalta 2.0. We don't want to be divided by Russia." He added, "For me, it's not simple and it can be dangerous."

Meanwhile, as delegations prepare for talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, NATO allies have been debating direct outreach to Putin. On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that discussions on how Europe would look after the Ukraine war were already underway.

Ahead of traveling to Paris for the G7 meeting, Rubio said, "It's one of the key topics that's been raised repeatedly in every conversation, anytime negotiations have been discussed." He added that advances had been made on what that post-conflict architecture could look like.

Breedlove, however, questioned whether European governments and Ukraine would even accept a broader agreement negotiated without their involvement. "We have always said nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," he said.

He added, "Neither have we heard anything about the EU or NATO being in this conversation. And yet the EU, NATO and Ukraine are central and the heart of the matter that apparently is going to be discussed."

Amid the tensions, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a rare 90-minute telephone conversation with Putin on October 27, according to reports. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized the separate European diplomatic initiatives, saying, "I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo."

Breedlove defended the calls as appropriate. "The two calls that recently took place between Northern leaders in the NATO alliance and Russia, I don't think that they're out of place at all," he said. "I think they're entirely appropriate."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed on Sunday that France would participate in the Abu Dhabi negotiations. "The Europeans will be well represented; France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part in these discussions," he said.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair also warned that Europe "we don't win" in the war without US support.

Breedlove warned that if Russia's maximalist demands remain intact and the rest of Europe has to give up its security to find peace, it will not go well. "Putin has never been a partner for peace in Ukraine. Putin is not now a partner for peace in Ukraine," he said.

He added, "We need to understand that we are in a war. Mr. Putin is at war with the West."