Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servants of the People party and chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, has nominated US President-elect Donald Trump for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, according to his letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, seen by Kyiv Independent on the 26th of November, reports the media outlet.
Trump’s praise for Putin and scepticism about US aid to Ukraine has drawn criticism from many Ukrainian opinion leaders, but some Ukrainian politicians and analysts believe he could side with Kyiv in negotiating a peace treaty with Russia.
“I believe that Trump has made a significant contribution to world peace and that he can make an even greater contribution in the future,” Merezhko wrote in his letter.
The MEP referred to Trump’s role as a mediator during his first presidential term, when he brokered agreements between Israel and Muslim countries including the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan.
“Trump also laid the foundations for today’s international coalition for Ukraine support by demonstrating global leadership in supplying arms to counter Russia’s brutal and illegal war of aggression,” said Merezhko, in an apparent reference to Trump’s decision to supply Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles during his first term in office.
Asked by the Kyiv Independent about his motivation for nominating Trump for the high award, the lawmaker said he wanted to use it “as an opportunity to get Trump’s attention so that he can help Ukraine survive”.
Merezhko expressed the hope that “in his efforts to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine [Trump] will seek a solution based on international law, including principles such as territorial integrity, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and non-use of force”.
In his nomination letter, Merezhko said that Trump could help Ukraine achieve “a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace based on the UN Charter and the principles of international law”.
During the election campaign, Trump, if elected, promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying in September that he would negotiate a deal “that would benefit both sides”.