US President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time in his push to revamp Washington’s policies on Ukraine, even though his inauguration is still months away, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
One unnamed former Trump administration official told the agency that the Republican will “have an immediate head start thanks to the perception that he will be tougher than his predecessor.” He added that some US adversaries could change their behavior without waiting for the president-elect to be sworn in, as they might be “deterred by the threat of US retaliation,” while others could try “to exploit their remaining leverage before President Joe Biden leaves office.”
According to Bloomberg, the shift in the wind is “felt most acutely in Ukraine,” given that Trump has promised to settle the conflict within 24 hours if elected, even before his inauguration. The president-elect and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky have already had a phone call, with X owner Elon Musk – a Trump ally who has advocated for Kiev to cede territory to Russia to end the conflict – also reportedly joining in.
Shelby Magid, the deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, told Bloomberg that Trump’s victory has changed Ukraine’s attitude toward talks. She added that the country is now “moving in the direction – knowing that Trump has won – of accepting that negotiations are a reality.”
The transition period is often turbulent in the US, the article added, noting that this has been exacerbated by Trump’s apparent intention to change US policy. According to Bloomberg, this has “handcuffed the Biden administration,” as many US allies had been reluctant to take action before they were sure who would be the next US president.
As for a possible settlement of the Ukraine conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported that one of the plans under consideration includes Kiev dropping its ambitions to join NATO in the near future and freezing the conflict along the current front line. While Zelensky has ruled out any concessions to Russia, including “trading” territory, Ukrainian media reports suggested that he might be powerless to resist US pressure if Trump decides that Kiev must make a peace deal with Russia.
Moscow has ruled out a freezing of the conflict, insisting that all of the goals of the military operation – including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – must be achieved. Nevertheless, Russia has signaled that it is open to talks aimed at resolving the crisis.