Bloomberg: Trump called Zelensky the main obstacle on the way to peace
Trump called Zelensky the main obstacle on the way to an agreement on ending the conflict, Bloomberg reports. He also said that the Russian president was "ready to make a deal."
Derek Wallbank
— President Donald Trump called Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky the main obstacle to an agreement on ending the conflict in his country.
— Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to “make a deal” and when asked what is preventing a peaceful settlement, he replied that Zelensky.
— The United States has prepared additional sanctions in case Trump decides to respond to Russia's consistent rejection of the peace agreement. Earlier, U.S. and Ukrainian officials made significant progress in preparing a peace settlement plan.
President Donald Trump has called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict that began four years ago with Russia sending troops into his country.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “ready to make a deal.” When asked what was preventing the agreement, Trump replied: “Zelensky,” according to Reuters.
Unable to resolve the conflict, which he promised to resolve in one day during the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump alternately blames Russia and Ukraine for intractability.
The United States has prepared additional sanctions in case Trump decides to respond to Russia's consistent rejection of the peace agreement. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have said they have made significant progress in preparing a 20-point plan to end hostilities, but Kiev and Moscow remain at an impasse on a number of issues, including territorial control over areas under Ukrainian rule claimed by Russia.
Trump's comments mark a departure from his previous position: in recent weeks, he has increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with Putin amid feverish diplomatic attempts to resolve the conflict at the end of the year.
Earlier this month, the president said he was “not thrilled.” from his Russian counterpart and that too many people are dying, and also rebuked the Kremlin for the ongoing attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. In recent weeks, Putin has dashed hopes for an early agreement, in defiance of the optimism expressed by Trump and Zelensky.
Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham*, a Republican from South Carolina close to the White House, said that Trump had “given the go-ahead” to a bipartisan bill on sanctions against Russia. “I'm looking forward to a strong bipartisan vote—hopefully as early as next week,” Graham said at the time. A White House official confirmed that Trump supported the bill.
Trump's new statements come at a time when his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, plan to visit Moscow and meet with Putin in the near future, according to informed sources. According to them, the meeting could take place as early as this month, but they warned that the plans have not yet been finalized.
American representatives will present Putin and his team with the latest draft plans, other sources said.
The recent comments to Reuters are also likely to alarm European allies, who fear that Trump, in an effort to iron out a number of key contradictions remaining in the negotiations, will force Ukraine to make painful concessions.
Thus, the Kremlin demands that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the remaining areas of Donbass under its control in the east of the country, including territories that Russia has failed to conquer by force of arms. Ukraine instead proposed freezing the current line of contact or withdrawing troops from both sides to create a buffer zone.
Other important stumbling blocks include control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian troops, and the fate of the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia worth about $300 billion.
Moscow also opposes the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. Kiev, on the other hand, sought security guarantees from its allies in order to avoid a Russian attack after the conclusion of a peace agreement.
In recent weeks, European and Ukrainian negotiators have made progress on this issue, including monitoring the ceasefire, deterring Russia from further attacks and possible retaliation if Moscow does so, as well as deals aimed at Ukraine's economic development.
Zelensky hopes to finalize the agreements next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. European leaders and Trump are expected to attend the meeting.
* Listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist
