Zelenskiy Welcomes Trump Effort But Warns of Hasty Ceasefire
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the possibility of Donald Trump initiating an effort to end Russia’s war, but warned against pushing for a ceasefire agreement that could easily unravel.
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“I want very much Trump to help us end this war,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Brussels after a meeting with European Union leaders, even as he challenged mounting speculation about how to bring the nearly three years of fighting to a halt.
Even if Russia’s Vladimir Putin were to agree to a ceasefire, he said, an order to revive the fighting would quickly dismantle an agreement if it’s not a “real plan.”
“Who will lose? Everybody,” Zelenskiy said. “Everybody who made this decision. I don’t want it.”
The Ukrainian leader secured renewed assurances from EU leaders and met some of his biggest backers at a gathering hosted by NATO chief Mark Rutte late Wednesday. Many reinforced the notion that Kyiv, whose troops are under pressure from a coordinated Russian assault, should be in the strongest possible position before any negotiations to end the conflict begin.
And with Trump set to take office with pledges for a quick end to the war — and with many in his party calling for a halt to aid — Zelenskiy called for a common line between the US and the EU. The Ukrainian leader has made an urgent plea for concrete security guarantees that Kyiv would need to defend itself.
Trump hasn’t provided details of how he intends to stop the fighting. The president-elect and his national security nominees have hinted that Ukraine may have to leave swathes of territory in limbo in exchange for security guarantees that will likely fall short of NATO membership.
Zelenskiy declined to outline the details of his demands for security guarantees. As Ukraine confronts its third full winter of the war with a decimated energy system, the president has focused his pleas on bolstering the country’s air defenses and ammunition.
Leaders also addressed a French proposal for a potential postwar peacekeeping force. Zelenskiy, queried on the idea, said any such plan would need to be fleshed out. “We need specifics,” he said.
EU leaders used the joint conclusions from the Thursday summit to call for “the urgent stepping up of efforts, in particular on the delivery of air defence systems, ammunition and missiles, as well as on the provision of necessary training and equipment for Ukrainian brigades,” according to the text.
Asked how he felt ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Zelenskiy responded: “Welcome Donald.”
--With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Zoltan Simon.
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