Ukrainian president says conflict with Russia must be concluded next year ‘by diplomatic means’ | James Rothwell, Berlin Correspondent
Donald Trump’s election victory means the war in Ukraine will end sooner than expected, Volodymyr Zelensky has said in an interview calling for a “diplomatic” solution.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House,” Mr Zelensky told Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne. “This is their approach, their promise to their citizens.”
Mr Zelensky, who had previously said Russia must be expelled from all of Ukraine militarily, said a solution needed to come “next year” through “diplomatic means”.
The Ukrainian president also disclosed that he had a “constructive exchange” with Mr Trump after his recent US election victory, in which he “didn’t hear anything that goes against our [Kyiv’s] position”.
Mr Zelensky’s comments hint at a thaw in relations with Mr Trump, who has previously criticised US arms deliveries to Kyiv and ramped up pressure on European allies to push for peace.
However, Mr Zelensky also appeared to be mocked by Elon Musk for suggesting in the interview that the US could not force Ukraine to “sit and listen” at the negotiating table.
“He [sic] sense of humor is amazing,” Mr Musk replied to a post on X, formerly Twitter, showing a video of the interview and the Zelensky quote.
The X owner, who has become a close aide to Mr Trump and has been given a key post in his administration, was reportedly on his phone call with Mr Zelensky last week. He also posted a link to an article about Mr Zelensky’s previous career as a comedian.
In 2022, Mr Zelensky signed a decree that barred Ukraine from holding negotiations with Russia to end the war while Vladimir Putin remained as leader.
Ceding territory to Russia is likely to be a key condition in talks on ending the war, but this would require approval via a national referendum in Ukraine. Opinion polls suggest such a move would be rejected by the Ukrainian public.
Mr Trump says he has built up a good relationship with Mr Zelensky, strengthened by a meeting in New York in September in which the Republican leader said that he “learned a lot” and vowed to get the war “resolved very quickly”.
Mr Zelensky’s call for a “diplomatic” solution to the war comes a day after Kyiv rebuked Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, for holding a telephone call with Vladimir Putin, his first in two years.
That phone call was sought by Berlin despite Kyiv’s objections.
Mr Scholz’s office said it was used to “urge Russia to show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace”.
But Ukrainian officials accused Mr Scholz of undermining Western support for Kyiv as it reduced the isolation of Putin, who was made a pariah in the West after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, said in a post on social media that Western leaders would only embolden Putin by speaking to him on the phone.
In the same post, which was published on X on Saturday afternoon, he suggested Putin had no interest in a diplomatic solution to the war.
“It is obvious that the “Entity Putin” itself is only inclined to ultimatums, does not assume any negotiations within the framework of international law, and definitely wants to continue the war, seize land, kill, kill, and kill once again. So what is this passion for telephone conversations with the Russian Federation?” he wrote.
The US is the biggest military supporter of Ukraine, having committed or delivered weapons and equipment worth £41.5 billion between February 2022 and June 2024, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
But Mr Trump has said the war is a drain on US resources, and claimed he has drawn up a plan to rapidly end the war as a top priority once he is sworn in as America’s 47th President.
Marco Rubio, a Republican senator who has said that the war in Ukraine is in a stalemate, was this week revealed as Mr Trump’s nominee for secretary of state.
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth, the president-elect’s preferred candidate for the role of defence secretary, believes the US has spent too much money on supporting Ukraine.
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