Zelensky: Ukraine conflict will end ‘sooner’ with Trump in office

KYIV (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Russia’s war against his country will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes United States president next year.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

“The war will end, but we don’t know the exact date,” he added.

Zelensky said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during their telephone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.

“I didn’t hear anything that goes against our position,” he added.

Throughout the election campaign, Trump criticized the tens of billions of dollars in aid provided for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and he promised he would resolve the conflict “in 24 hours,” without ever explaining how.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, Trump said “we’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It’s got to stop.”

Ukraine fears US support will flag just as its troops are struggling on the front, or that it will be forced to make territorial concessions to Russia.

Meanwhile, Kyiv condemned Germany’s Olaf Scholz call to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as an “attempt at appeasement” that Moscow would see as a sign of weakness.

“Talk only gives Putin hope of easing his international isolation,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.

“What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage.”

Zelensky, while confirming that Scholz had told him he would be calling Putin, warned that the talks would open “a Pandora’s box.”

“This is exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation,” he said.