Trump: “There is only one strategy to end the war in Ukraine – it all depends on Putin”
14 January 08:36
US President-elect Donald Trump said there is “only one strategy” to end the war in Ukraine, and it depends on Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin. This was reported by Reuters, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
Trump said he was going to meet with Putin “very quickly” after he takes office next week.
“I know he wants to meet, and I’m going to meet very quickly. I would have done it earlier, but… you need to get into the office. You have to be there for some things,” Trump said.
He did not name a schedule for the meeting, which will be the first between the two leaders since Russia’s war with Ukraine began in February 2022. But he said that there is “only one strategy (to end the war in Ukraine – ed.), and it depends on Putin.”
“Well, there is only one strategy, and it depends on Putin. And I can’t imagine that he’s too happy with the way things have gone, because it hasn’t gone well for him,” Trump added.
U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, said on Sunday that he expects a phone call between Trump and Putin in the “coming days and weeks.”
As a reminder, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced its readiness to organize a meeting between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on its territory.
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Trump’s position on Ukraine
During the election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that he would stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. Sometimes he suggested that this could happen even before that.
Also during the election, the media spread the so-called “Trump Plan”. The idea was that the United States would use its influence to stop the war and maintain the status quo. To do this, Trump would force Putin and Zelenskyy to sit down at the negotiating table. If Putin does not agree to negotiate, the United States will give Ukraine all the weapons it needs to win on the battlefield. If Zelenskyy refuses to negotiate, the United States will completely stop helping Ukraine.
This plan, in its various variations, stipulates that Russia retains the territories it temporarily occupies and that Ukraine does not join NATO.
However, later Trump seemed to “forget” about this plan. In particular, he voiced scenarios in which he would force Russia to capitulate due to the decline in world oil prices.
After Trump was elected President of the United States, one of his advisors, Brian Lanza, said that Ukraine should forget about Crimea. The president-elect’s entourage, however, was quick to deny this statement and said that Lanza could not speak for Trump.
Currently, the future US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is talking about 100 days in which he wants to reach some kind of agreement.