Kyiv [Ukraine], December 15: US President-elect Donald Trump's team is preparing to push for peace talks, while many others hope for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
NBC News on December 14 quoted sources as saying that US President-elect Donald Trump's national security team has held discussions with White House officials and Ukrainian leaders in a coordinated effort to find a way to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Although Trump's advisers and cabinet candidates have not presented specific ideas or plans to Kyiv, observers said the move represents an effort to promote peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, after Trump repeatedly declared that he would end the war soon after taking office.
"Resolved in a few months"
In an interview with Fox News on December 13, Mr. Keith Kellogg, the special envoy chosen by Mr. Trump to be in charge of the Ukraine issue, said there will be an immediate solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine after Mr. Trump takes office next month.
"I really believe this will be resolved in the next few months. The only person who can do this is President Trump and he will. They are tired of killing each other out there. It's time," said Kellogg. As national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, Kellogg helped draft a peace plan that included freezing the front lines in Ukraine, halting discussions about Ukraine joining NATO and partially lifting sanctions on Russia. Kellogg's proposal also included continued US military aid and security guarantees to Ukraine, but withholding aid if Kyiv did not agree to peace talks with Moscow.
On the Ukrainian side, the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said that the country was not ready to enter into negotiations with Russia because it lacked Western support to have a strong negotiating position, according to The Kyiv Independent. The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the matter. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said that there were no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made concessions or changed his overall goal of effective control over Ukraine. Analysts said that Russia has the advantage on the battlefield, so it will be difficult for the Kremlin to stop the conflict. In addition, Russia is unlikely to accept a ceasefire when Ukrainian soldiers still control some areas in Russia's Kursk region.
Speaking to the Financial Times recently, Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, a figure close to the Kremlin, said that for effective dialogue, it is necessary to talk about the future of Europe and the world , not just the future of Ukraine.
Hope for a ceasefire
Despite the differences, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the government hoped Ukraine would gradually agree to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange with Russia by Christmas. He recalled that Hungarian President Viktor Orban had outlined the initiative on December 11 during a phone call with President Putin and then relayed it to Kyiv.
"We told President Putin about it and informed a number of Russian government officials, who responded positively and openly, showing a willingness to consider the proposal and negotiate," TASS news agency quoted Mr. Szijjarto as saying on December 14. The diplomat called on the conflicting parties to reach "a Christmas ceasefire and conduct a large-scale prisoner exchange."
In a related development, The Kyiv Independent on December 14 quoted European diplomats as saying that French President Emmanuel Macron, when attending the summit of European Union (EU) leaders from December 18-19, will raise the possibility of mobilizing European troops to Ukraine, if the country gradually reaches a ceasefire agreement with Russia.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
