This content was formerly published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
U. S. President Donald Trump said on January 23 that he would like to join with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon to , secure an end to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
” From what I hear, Putin would like to see me, and we’ll leave as soon as we can. I’d join immediately”, Trump told investigators at the White House. ” Common we don’t match, troops are being killed in the field”.
Trump added that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the leader of Ukraine, had informed him that he was prepared to reach a resolution to end the conflict.
Earlier on January 23, Trump told the World Economic Forum ( WEF ) in Davos, Switzerland, over video link that he would like to be able to meet with Putin soon. He continued, adding that no particulars were provided regarding U.S. efforts to reach a peace agreement.
Trump repeatedly promised to end the war within weeks of his opening during the campaign for president last year. He then claims that it could take weeks, but he has repeatedly mentioned ending the war.
Zelenskiy also spoke at the WEF, telling the meeting that a 200, 000-strong German peacekeeping force may become necessary to secure any cease-fire in the fight in Ukraine, but he insisted , U. S. leadership , in any such a venture would be crucial to its success.
In a panel discussion on January 22 Zelenskiy’s statement, Zelenskiy claimed that a regiment like that would be only a portion of Kyiv’s overall security assurances should cease-fire negotiations always start with Putin.
Individually, Zelenskiy told Bloomberg News that for any peace power to be effective, it must contain U. S. forces.
” It can’t be without the United States” , , he told Bloomberg , Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.
” First of all, no one will get challenges without the United States. Second, it does break NATO, divide the United States, and the European Union”, he said. ” It’s Putin’s wish to cut this alliance”.
A security power of 200, 000 would be an extraordinary effort for Europe. The NATO-led foreign mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina peaked in 1996 at 60, 000 soldiers, about a second from the United States.
Given that Ukraine simply has half of the military’s, Zelenskiy claimed, and that such a large international pressure may be required.
Zelenskiy said during a press event with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on January 16 that the possibility of a foreign military presence in Ukraine was being discussed with nations that might be interested.
According to the English press, Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed sending troops to Ukraine as a security power following any agreement to end the conflict.
Zelenskiy echoed Trump’s claim that Xi Jinping, the president of China, had “push” Russia into a peaceful foothold.
” But not without us — this is important”, he added, referring to any peace arrangement.
The novel U. S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, spoke by phone on January 23 with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and discussed the importance of ending the war in Ukraine. After Trump said he was” not sure” whether the United States should spend anything on the alliance, Rubio told the State Department, adding that Rubio also reaffirmed that the United States ‘ commitment to NATO and that other member nations should fund defense expenditures at 5 % of GDP.
Zelenskiy said his team was” currently in the process” of setting up a face-to-face conference with Trump, who resumed the U. S. president on January 20.
Zelenskiy’s comments come after Trump made some of the most important public remarks against Putin, whom he has frequently praised in admiration, in three days.
Trump on January 22 called out his Russian counterpart by name, warning Moscow it faces fresh “high” taxes, fees, and sanctions if it doesn’t immediately stop its full-scale conquest of Ukraine.
He had previously suggested that if Putin didn’t agree to peace talks, he may apply punishment to Russia if he didn’t.
And on January 20 said Putin was “destroying” Russia by refusing to make a bargain to end the war.
” I think Russia’s going to be in great trouble…. The majority of people believed the war would have ended in a year. Trump said”.
Russia has lost access to European financial markets and the lucrative European oil industry, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars lost during the war, and is thought to have suffered 700, 000 casualties. It also has infuriated its neighbors.
The Kremlin devotes about 40 % of its budget to the military, and even with interest rates above 20 %, it struggles to contain inflation.
The conflict in Ukraine started in 2014 with the Kremlin’s arrest and improper conquest of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and intensified with Russia’s full-scale war in February 2022.
