Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian television on Thursday, the 2nd of January, that US President-elect Donald Trump would be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month war with Russia and could help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, reports Reuters.
Zelenskyy, faced with Russian forces’ advances in eastern Ukraine, said the priority at the start of the new year was stabilising the front line.
Trump had said Zelenskyy that he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration later this month.
Zelenskyy said that Putin was afraid of talks because they would be equivalent to a Russian defeat.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing”, Zelenskyy said in a television interview.
“He does indeed have those qualities.” Zelenskyy said of Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to be more precise, of helping us to stop Putin. He is capable of doing that.”
Zelenskyy has said that achieving a just peace for Ukraine means receiving solid security guarantees from its allies, joining the European Union and receiving an invitation to join the NATO alliance, which Moscow does not support.
“Of course, any security guarantees without the US are weak security guarantees for Ukraine”, he said.
Zelenskyy said he wanted Ukraine’s views to be taken into account in any US settlement plan.
“There can be no other way. We are Ukraine and this is our independence, our land and our future.”
He also hoped that the Trump administration would be able to quickly establish contacts with Russia. Putin has said Moscow is open to talks, but they must take into account Russia’s gains in the war and the annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
As Russian forces on the eastern front take village after village in the fastest advance since the February 2022 invasion, Zelenskyy said stabilisation of the front is crucial.
“They are putting pressure on our guys who are tired, and that is a fact. We will do everything to at least stabilise the front in January”, he said.
Zelenskyy, who was elected in 2019, reiterated that new elections cannot be held while martial law is in force, but said he would consider running again as soon as conditions allow.
“I don’t know how this war will end,” he said. “If I can do more than I am capable of, then I will probably look more positively on this decision (to run for a new term). For the time being, that is not my goal.”