Ukraine hope

Selenskyj: “Strong” Trump can end the war

Volodymyr Selensky is backing Donald Trump and is convinced that the US President-elect can end the war.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Andreas Arnold)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has expressed confidence that the "strong" US President-elect Donald Trump can force Russia into peace talks and end the war in Ukraine.

In an interview with US podcaster Lex Fridman published on Sunday, Selenskyj said that the Republican would play a decisive role in ensuring Ukraine's security and paving the way for a negotiated settlement.

"Trump and I will come to an agreement and (...) offer strong security guarantees together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians," Selenskyj said, according to the published translation of the conversation. "We and Trump will come first, and Europe will support Ukraine's position."

Trump takes office on January 20. During the election campaign, he had announced that he would restore peace in Ukraine "within 24 hours" of taking office. This was met with scepticism in Ukraine: Kiev fears that it could be forced into an agreement that is unfavorable for the country.

Praise for Trump
Nevertheless, Selenskyj was full of praise for Trump. "I am really counting on him, and I believe that our people are really counting on him, so that he has enough power to (...) put Putin under pressure," said the Ukrainian head of state.

The European heads of state and government were all waiting to see what Trump wanted, Selensky continued. After his talks with Trump, everyone always asked him how things had gone. "This shows the influence of Donald Trump, and this has never happened before with an American president," said the Ukrainian head of state. "It also gives confidence that he can end this war."

Trump and I will come to an agreement and (...) offer strong security guarantees together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians.

Wolodymyr Selenskyj

Selensky also said that Trump had won the US presidential election against his rival Kamala Harris because he was "much stronger" than the Democrat. Trump had shown "intellectual and physical" strength, said Selenskyj. It was important to show "that you have to be strong if you want to have a strong country. And he was strong."

NATO membership in exchange for Donbass
In the podcast, Selensky brought up a concrete model for a possible end to the war: immediate NATO membership for his country in exchange for giving up the territories occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine. "However, our country will only be able to agree to this if certain conditions are met," said Selenskyj in an interview with Fridman. "Legally speaking, NATO has issued an invitation to Ukraine, and we do not recognize all other Ukrainian territories, but NATO can operate in the part that is under Ukrainian control - that can be agreed upon," Selensky described a possible scenario.

However, this is only possible if Ukraine sees a diplomatic way to end the war, he specified. In order to achieve peace, Ukraine would have to receive strong weapons packages from the USA and the EU in addition to NATO membership as a further security guarantee. "Because without security guarantees, (Russian ruler Vladimir) Putin will come back," said Selensky. And in order to further consolidate a possible peace or ceasefire, further sanctions against Russia would be necessary to prevent Putin from continuing to fill his war chest with income from the sale of oil and gas.

"Putin will not end the war of his own accord"
 Ultimately, Trump would have to persuade the Russian president to agree to a ceasefire. But then strong security guarantees would be necessary. "Because a ceasefire without guarantees is like a carte blanche for Putin," warned Selensky. He sees Trump facing a difficult task. "But don't wait for Putin to want to end the war of his own accord."

Lex Fridman is of Ukrainian-Jewish descent and grew up in Moscow during the Soviet era before his family moved to the USA in the 1990s. He is a computer scientist and podcaster. His guests have included Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-liberal Argentinian head of state Javier Milei.