Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone in a televised interview on Thursday, saying he believes President-elect Donald Trump can be “decisive” in ending the war as Kyiv approaches the third anniversary of the Russian invasion.
“Trump can be decisive. “This is the most important thing for us,” Zelenskyy told Reuters. “His qualities are definitely there.
“He has the ability to be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, or, more accurately, helping us stop Putin,” he added. “He is able to do this.”
Zelenskyy said Trump assured him that Kyiv would be one of his first presidential visits after his inauguration later this month, as Ukraine seeks to stabilize the front lines.
Stopping Russian advances early in the new year is Zelenskyy’s top priority, and he also reportedly claimed that Putin feared negotiations because they would be interpreted as a Russian defeat.
Despite nearly three years of war, Russia has been unable to achieve not only its initial war goals, but also Putin’s revised plans, which he announced last year when he stated that his main goal is now to take all of Donbas – a region in eastern Ukraine that includes much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
However, Putin is not the only one who appears to be concerned about potential peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy has stated that he welcomes peace talks, but that any negotiations to end the war will only be accepted if Ukraine is given certain security guarantees, such as the possibility of joining NATO.
“Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said, adding that Washington must consider Kyiv’s future security.
“It cannot be otherwise,” he said. “We are Ukraine, and it’s our independence, our land and our future.”
Putin, on the other hand, has stated that he will not accept any cease-fire negotiations that do not include guarantees that prevent Kyiv from joining the 32-member body. According to Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty, an attack on one member will trigger an attack on all NATO nations, effectively ensuring a united strike on Moscow if it targets Ukraine again.
Zelenskyy, who has led the country since 2019, was also asked if he would consider running again for president.
The Ukrainian president reiterated that the country cannot hold elections while in a state of war under its current constitution, but he said he would consider it once the conflict is resolved.
“I don’t know how this war will end,” he admitted. “If I can do more than I am capable of, I will most likely view such a decision [to seek re-election] positively. This is not one of my goals right now.”