Trump was asked whether Ukraine should cede territory to the Russian Federation as part of possible negotiations. He answered

US President-elect Donald Trump did not give a direct answer to the question of whether he believes that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia as part of possible negotiations to end the war.

“When you look at what happened, there are cities where not a single building is left, this is a place of demolition. People have nowhere to return to..,” he said during a press conference, answering questions.

Before that, Trump said that he intends to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After winning the elections, Trump already met with Zelensky, before that there was also a telephone conversation between the politicians.

According to the media, Trump held telephone talks with Putin (the Kremlin, however, denies this), but there was no personal meeting.

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Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that peace talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could begin this winter.

Recently, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the Ukrainian army lacks the strength to liberate some territories temporarily occupied by Russia and that diplomatic solutions should be sought. And before that, in a conversation with Sky News, he allowed the end of the hot phase of the war on the condition that the government-controlled part of the Ukrainian territory will be taken under the NATO umbrella, which will allow him to later agree on the return of the occupied territories “by diplomatic means.”

These words of the President of Ukraine differ from the previous statements of the Ukrainian authorities, which stated that there will be no diplomatic solutions without returning to the borders of 1991.

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Instead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on December 6 that peace in Ukraine is possible only if Ukraine renounces NATO membership and loses part of its territories.