““Serious shift.” Zelenskyi changes his rhetoric on potential talks to end the war — WP December 23, 13:58 Share: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyi during a meeting in Paris, December 7, 2024 (Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has signaled in recent weeks that greater readiness for potential negotiations on ending the war, and this is a serious shift for Ukrainian”, — write on: ua.news
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting in Paris, December 7, 2024 (Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine)
In recent weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has signaled greater readiness for potential negotiations to end the war, a major shift for the Ukrainian leader who has vowed to fight for every inch of his country’s land.
The Washington Post wrote about this on Monday, December 23, indicating that the election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States and the realities on the front are probably pushing Zelensky to the negotiating table.
Zelenskyi’s messages were cautious, the publication says, and they did not directly mention Kyiv’s readiness for territorial or other concessions. But if earlier the Ukrainian leader said that negotiations are possible only after Russia withdraws its troops, now he emphasizes the need for long-term security, not the immediate return of territories.
“The change in Zelenskyi’s rhetoric, which Ukrainian and Western officials have noticed, can probably be explained by the deterioration of the situation on the front line and the arrival of the US administration, which has called into question future security assistance to Kyiv,” writes WP.
Journalists note that during recent meetings with Donald Trump and European leaders, Zelenskyi mostly focused on “durable peace” for Ukraine. A top priority is an invitation to NATO and other security guarantees, such as the possible presence of Western peacekeepers to prevent future Russian attacks.
According to senior officials and analysts, Zelenskyi’s change in tone is likely an attempt to be more in line with Trump’s emphasis on ending the conflict. Thus, the former US ambassador to Russia and political scientist Michael McFaul noted that Zelenskyi’s administration “understands that the situation will change under Trump.”
For their part, NATO diplomats said that inviting Ukraine to the Alliance remains a distant prospect due to fears and political uncertainty among member countries of the military-political bloc. At the same time, the Alliance understands that Zelensky cannot refuse the demands of Western security guarantees.
The publication’s interlocutors also expressed doubts that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is ready for negotiations as long as his troops are making progress at the front, despite heavy losses.
Some officials assume that Zelensky is smartly insuring himself and hopes that his “a more accommodating position will draw the Trump White House to him and leave it open to providing more support for Ukraine’s defenses” if Putin rejects the talks.
The publication emphasizes that a high-ranking Ukrainian official stated that they “are beginning to believe” that the war may indeed end next year, as talk of a peace deal has intensified since Trump’s election. At the same time, the interlocutor of WP said that he does not think that it is possible to reach any agreement with Putin.
Prospects of negotiations between Trump and Putin – what is known
On November 20, the Reuters agency wrote that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss with Donald Trump a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, but rejects any significant territorial concessions and insists that Kyiv abandon its ambitions to join NATO.
On December 19, Putin stated that he had not communicated with Trump for four years, that he was ready for contacts and a meeting with him, but did not know when it might happen.
He also claimed that the aggressor country is supposedly always ready for “negotiations” and “compromises” with regard to Ukraine. Before that, he made it clear that he would not agree to freezing the war.
On December 20, The Washington Post wrote that Trump will meet Putin in 2025. However, analysts believe that there is little hope for a peace agreement given Putin’s maximalist position and Trump’s fear of looking weak if he makes concessions to the Russian Federation.
On December 22, Trump announced plans to meet with Putin.
“One of the things I want to do is quickly, and President Putin said he wants to meet with me as soon as possible. So we’re going to wait for that, we’ve got to end this war,” Trump said during a public address in Phoenix. (Arizona).
The Kremlin decided to assure that “there have been no real impulses to organize a meeting between Putin and Trump so far.”