Negotiations and weapons: What Trump and his team say about ending the war in Ukraine
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
A month and a half after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, there are still few details about his peace plan. However, some specifics have already emerged in statements made by Trump and his key advisors.
RBC-Ukraine reports on the options for a peaceful settlement that have already been announced by Trump himself and his key advisors.
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Throughout his election campaign and in the first weeks after his victory, Donald Trump made vague statements about many global political issues, including Ukraine. However, this trend is gradually fading as his team develops a clearer vision and settles on key personnel for various issues. On December 16, Trump held his first press conference after the election victory. In addition, several interviews with Trump and his advisors have appeared in US media.
What Donald Trump says
At the press conference, Trump stated that both leaders – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin – “must be ready for an agreement.” He plans to negotiate with both of them.
Trump said that Trump said that this needed to end and that they were trying to end it, but that they would see. He added, "We'll be talking to President Putin, and we'll be talking to the representatives, Zelenskyy and representatives from Ukraine. We gotta stop it; it's carnage.
The President-elect also emphasized that a “deal” is necessary to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, he did not specify what kind of agreement he would like to see between the countries, nor did he clarify whether he expects Ukraine to cede territory to Russia.
In a December 12 interview with Time, Trump stated that he did not want to disclose the details of his plan so as not to undermine it.
“When I talk to people — when I start, I think I have a very good plan to help, but when I start exposing that plan, it becomes almost a worthless plan,” the politician said.
In response to a question about whether Trump plans to leave Ukraine, he stated, “I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you're going to reach an agreement is not to abandon (Ukraine -ed.).”
At the same time, Trump expressed opposition to allowing strikes deep into Russian territory.
“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We're just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done. Now, they're not only doing missiles, but they're also doing other types of weapons. And I think that's a very big mistake, very big mistake,” Trump said.
Furthermore, the future US president would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “quickly,” again “to stop the war.” Earlier, several Western media outlets reported that Trump had already had a phone conversation with Putin. The Kremlin strongly denies this, and Trump has not given a clear answer as to whether it is true.
What Keith Kellogg says
At the beginning of January, Keith Kellogg, the future US special representative for Ukraine and Russia, is expected to visit Ukraine. In a December 13 interview with Fox Business, he said that both Ukraine and Russia are ready for negotiations.
“Absolutely, I think both sides are ready. Think of a cage fight. You've got two fighters, and both wanna tap out. You need to referee to kinda separate them. I think that President Donald J. Trump can do that," Kellogg said.
According to him, the war is currently a war of attrition. The loss ratio between Ukraine and Russia is approximately 1 to 5.
Kellogg also mentioned that he would not be surprised if Trump arranged a meeting in Washington with both Zelenskyy and Putin.
“President Trump plays three-level chess, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did something like that. Could he do it? Of course, he could do it,” Kellogg noted.
He also pointed out that the idea of such a meeting is “really a very good one.”
"I wouldn't put anything beyond the realm of possible that he would do that, and I wouldn't be surprised," Kellogg added.
What Mike Waltz says
On December 15, Mike Waltz, Trump’s future National Security Advisor, responded to a CBS News question about whether Trump’s team plans to limit Ukraine’s use of US weapons or assistance in targeting decisions.
“President Trump just said in the interview that, you know, a blank check, in his interview with Time magazine, I believe, you know, a blank check isn't - you know, just isn't a strategy,” Waltz stated.
At the same time, the Financial Times notes that Trump intends to continue providing military aid to Ukraine. Three anonymous sources confirmed this.
According to the publication, senior British officials visited Washington in early December to review Trump’s plans for Ukraine. After the visit, they reported that the US president-elect opposes Ukraine’s NATO membership but believes that supplying weapons to Kyiv after a ceasefire will ensure “peace through strength.”
Waltz also indirectly confirmed that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is acting as a communicator between Trump and Putin.
When host Margaret Brennan repeatedly asked whether there was any message Trump was trying to convey through Orbán, Waltz said, “I'm not going to get into specifics of back and forths. But, one is talking, of course, we're going to continue to talk, and President Trump's made it clear he wants this war to stop.”
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Trump’s team is gradually coming to the realization that ending the war “in 24 hours” will be impossible. This seems to be happening as more detailed information is provided by the intelligence community and through conversations with leaders of other countries. Based on the statements from Trump and his team, halting aid to Ukraine at this point seems unlikely and serves more as a motivation for negotiations. However, as before, there is no clear vision of how to end the war.
Notably, in the final days of his presidency, Joe Biden significantly intensified the provision of aid to Ukraine. Military aid packages for Ukraine were announced on December 2 and 13. However, according to The New York Times, US leadership is likely to be unable to use the full $5.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine before Donald Trump assumes office.
Sources: statements made by Donald Trump at a press conference and in an interview with Time, as well as interviews with Keith Kellogg for Fox Business and Mike Waltz for CBS News, and a publication from the Financial Times.
