U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met in Paris yesterday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for somewhere between 20 and 45 minutes, in a meeting set up and urged by French President Emmanuel Macron. None of the parties issued an official readout.
Zelenskyy posted on his X account yesterday: “President Trump is, as always, resolute... We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace. We agreed to continue working together and keep in contact. Peace through strength is possible.”
Today, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform a call for an immediate ceasefire and then negotiations—however, his pitch ignored Russia’s stated basis for negotiations and, instead, emphasized how desperate Russia was:
“Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
In Trump’s interview with NBC News, broadcast today, he was asked whether Ukraine should “prepare for less aid from the United States” after his inauguration next month, to which he replied: “Possibly. Yeah, probably, sure.” Then, when pressed by NBC host Kristen Welker whether he had spoken to Putin recently, he said: “I don’t want to say anything about that, because I don’t want to do anything that will impede the negotiation.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy was already showing how he would be “working together” with Trump in a new post today, stating that the conflict “cannot simply end with a piece of paper and a few signatures…. To ensure that Ukrainians no longer suffer losses, we must guarantee the reliability of peace and not turn a blind eye to occupation.” He stressed that “in the occupied territories of Ukraine, at least several million people remain,” implying no territorial concessions in exchange for peace. “It is precisely such peace through strength that we discuss with all our partners, as well as the steps and guarantees needed for the people and the state attacked by Russia.” Putin, he declared, “can only be stopped by strength.”
If Trump thinks he has forced Zelenskyy to the negotiating table, or given Putin a basis for negotiations, he may be in for an education.
