Peace in Sight? Ukraine War Rhetoric Changes Amid Trump’s Pledge to End Conflict

Peace in Sight? Ukraine War Rhetoric Changes Amid Trump’s Pledge to End Conflict

Sputnik

 Kiev is "starting to believe" that the Ukraine conflict may end in 2025 amid more active discussions of peace settlement after Donald Trump’s election as US president, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian official. 

The report added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rhetoric has also changed due to the difficulties the Ukrainian armed forces are facing on the battlefield. The Ukrainian president has been demonstrating more readiness for ceasefire talks, for instance, and paying less attention to having the territories back, but is focusing on the need to ensure security for the long term, the report read. 

This shift in Zelensky’s position is believed to be connected with his willingness to be more in line with Trump, who has said he intends to end the conflict.

However, Zelensky’s attempts to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as Kiev’s invitation to the alliance, is still a distant prospect, some NATO diplomats told the newspaper. 

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine: Moscow will immediately cease fire and declare its readiness for negotiations after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of Russia's new regions. In addition, Kiev should declare that it is abandoning its intention to join NATO and carry out demilitarization and denazification, as well as accept a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status. The Russian leader also mentioned the lifting of sanctions against Russia. 

After Ukrainian troops attacked Russia's Kursk Region in August, Putin called negotiations with Kiev an impossible prospect. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow's peace proposals had not been voided, but Russia would not engage with Ukraine at that point.