Donald Trump is working on a plan to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to the new president of the United States. Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, is shaking Europe and rejecting the idea of pleasing the Kremlin leader.
Trump’s plan
The international picture, including that of the conflict that has been ongoing for almost 1000 days, has radically changed with the verdict of the American elections. Trump arrives at the White House after repeating for months that he would favor a quick agreement between Putin and Zelensky. The new American president’s plan does not yet exist, even if the Wall Street Journal outlines the framework on which the tycoon’s advisors are working: a 1300 km demilitarized zone along the current front line.
No American military presence and, above all, Ukraine’s commitment not to join NATO for at least 20 years. Renouncing entry into the Atlantic Alliance, which Zelensky includes among the priorities of his Victory Plan, would be rewarded with the supply of American weapons: Kiev out of NATO but able to fight in the event of a new conflict. Among the options proposed to Trump by his staff there would also be freezing the conflict: the new president’s decision has not yet been made.
Putin breaks the ice: “Let’s talk, ready to negotiate”
Trump’s potential position, reiterated for months during the election campaign, obviously does not go unnoticed either in Moscow or Kiev. Putin, after a couple of days of silence regarding the American elections, breaks the ice in every sense. At the Valdai club, the Russian think tank, the president speaks for over 4 hours. Congratulations arrive to Trump and the message: “I am ready for dialogue”, says the Kremlin leader in summary.
The reason is no mystery: Trump’s repeated words about Ukraine over the past year “deserve attention.” “If someone wants to resume contact, I don’t mind. I’m ready,” Putin says. “Russia is ready to restore relations with the Americans, but the ball is in their court,” he adds. When will direct contact take place? “No one knows”says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who does not rule out a phone call from Moscow to Washington.
In his very long speech, Putin reiterates concepts which, at a negotiating table, would become conditions: “I am ready for talks starting from the current reality and the agreements already reached in Istanbul”, he says, referring to the contacts that took place in 2022, in the initial phase of the war . Moscow, as is known, considers the Ukrainian regions occupied even only partially to be annexed to its territory and considers Kiev’s neutrality with respect to NATO indispensable: a point which, according to the Wall Street Journal, would be accepted by Trump.
The goal of any talks “should not be a one-hour or 6-month truce, which would only serve to rearm Kiev.” NATO, according to the Russian president, with its “expansion towards the east has transformed itself into a military alliance that aims at the destruction of Russia. And Russia, which has always stopped those who aimed at world domination, will defend itself and defend its own citizens”.
Zelensky: “No concessions to Moscow”
At the same time, in Budapest, Zelensky tries to shake up the European leaders. Making “concessions” to Putin, he says, would be “unacceptable” for Ukraine and “suicidal” for Europe. The president has so far never moved from a position that excludes territorial mutilations for his country in favor of Moscow and which, at present, is irreconcilable with the limits that Putin sets explicitly.
“What would be the next step? Should Europe seek favor with Kim Jong Un, in the hope that he too will leave Europe in peace?”, he says, referring to the presence of North Korean soldiers alongside the Russians. “We need weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin won’t help. Some of you have been embracing it for 20 years and things only get worse. Just think about the war: it won’t change. Only pressure can put limits on him.”
Therefore, the message addressed also – if not above all – to Trump: the war with Russia takes place “on Ukrainian soil”, so it is up to Kiev to decide what will or will not be on the table, to put an end to it. Ukraine in the past “already had a ceasefire” with Moscow, which was followed by a “prisoner exchange”. Yet, “the war did not stop.”