Volodymyr Zelensky has stated his belief that a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could be made under Donald Trump’s presidency but demanded Kyiv be included in any peace talks.
The Ukrainian president also said on Saturday that the terms of any deal that might arise under the new US president were still unclear – and might not even be clear to Trump himself – because Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.
However, the Russian president has emphasised that he is open for talks with Trump on a broad range of issues including his country’s war in Ukraine, telling a state TV journalist on Friday: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.”
Trump, who took office on Monday, has, in turn, expressed willingness to speak to Putin about ending the war, a contrast with the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who shunned the Russian leader. Trump even promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House – without saying how, and aides have since suggested that a deal could take months.
And Zelensky has now stressed that ending the war would not be possible unless Trump includes Ukraine itself in any negotiations.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday alongside Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, a visiting ally, Zelensky said: “Otherwise it will not work. Because Russia does not want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it.”
In a separate interview broadcast later that day, Zelensky said he believed Trump truly wanted to see an end to the war, nearing the three-year mark next month, describing the US president as understanding all the challenges associated with the peace process and “simply saying this has to end or it will get worse”.
Speaking to Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was released this month after being detained for 21 days in Iran, Zelensky added: “For now, we don’t know how this will happen because we don’t know the details. I believe President Trump himself does not know all the details. Because I would say so much depends on what sort of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I believe he doesn’t want to.”
Kyiv, long worried about the prospect of its fate being decided by bigger powers without its participation, has said it is working to arrange a meeting between Zelensky and Trump.
Addressing journalists earlier alongside Sandu, Zelensky said he believed European allies should also be included in any future peace talks.
“As for what the set-up of the talks will be: Ukraine, I really hope Ukraine will be there, America, Europe and the Russians,” he said. “Yes, I would really want that Europe would take part, because we will be members of the European Union.” Ukraine and Moldova both submitted applications to join the EU days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
On Friday, Putin said he would like to meet Trump to talk about Ukraine but cited a 2022 decree from Zelensky barring talks with Putin as a barrier to negotiations.
Zelensky said on Saturday he had introduced this ban to stop Putin from forming channels of communication with other groups in Ukraine, which he said Russia had attempted, particularly those advocating separatist views.
“I therefore took an absolutely fair decision,” he said. “I am the president of Ukraine and the leader of these or any other talks and I banned all the others.”
