US President-elect Donald Trump has promised that his team will work hard to resolve the Ukraine conflict to prevent further bloodshed.
Trump made the remarks at the America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday. “We’re going to work in the Middle East, and we’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine.”
He went on to say that the conflict “has got to stop,” adding that he has seen a report claiming that “thousands of people… were killed” over the past three days. “They happen to be soldiers but whether they’re soldiers or they’re people sitting in towns, we’re going to work [on] it,” Trump said, without elaborating further.
In the run-up to the presidential election, the Republican – who has been critical of unconditional US support for Kiev – promised to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if elected, even before being sworn into office. While that pledge remains far from fulfilled, media reports have claimed that Trump is already reshaping US policy on Ukraine.
A Wall Street Journal report earlier this month indicated that one potential peace plan would force Ukraine to suspend its ambitions to join NATO for at least 20 years and would freeze the conflict along the current front lines in exchange for continued US military assistance to Kiev.
In addition, Trump has nominated several critics of Ukraine aid for top government positions, including Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, and Matt Gaetz for attorney general. The nominations must be confirmed by the Senate, which the Republicans regained control over in this year’s election.
Moscow has said it is open to dialogue, but has ruled out freezing the conflict, insisting that the goals of its military operation – including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – must be met.
President Vladimir Putin has signaled that Russia is willing to immediately declare a ceasefire and start peace talks as soon as Kiev begins withdrawing troops from the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, which voted in referendums to join the country in autumn 2022. Moscow has also ruled out talks with Kiev as long as Ukrainian troops occupy part of the border region of Kursk.